Ulaanbaatar
IMF team arrives to monitor implementation of EFF program
Economy
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ A monitoring team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reportedly arrived in Mongolia to get familiarized with the implementation of the Extended Fund Facility Program, which was authorized by the IMF Board on May 25.
Since the day of the Board’s approval, initial funding has been allocated to Mongolia. Total funding for the three-year EFF program is USD 434.3 million. The initial funding of USD 38.6 million was transferred to the foreign exchange reserve of the central bank of Mongolia, in addition to financing from World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Loan agreements with bilateral partners such as Japan and South Korea are on final stage.
It has been agreed that a monitoring team will visit Mongolia at least once in every three months to look through the mobilization of EFF program. IMF wanted to clarify that it will allocate partial funding on each of the three phases of implementation after careful consideration for the level of EFF program realization.
It has been about two months since commencement of EFF program, for preparation of which, the Parliament has approved the amendments to 2017 State Budget. In its frames, a decision was made by authorities to grant children’s benefits to only 60 percent of children of Mongolia taking into consideration the guardians’ annual incomes. However, right before the second round of the presidential election, the government resolved to grant children’s benefits to all children. Some experts reminded the government is breaching the agreement it has with IMF. Whether it was a violation to the IMF-Mongolia agreement or not is likely to be resolved during the monitoring team’s stay in Mongolia.
During the three-year period of EFF implementation, every budget administrator are tasked to monitor budget revenue and expenditure. It is expected to help reducing budget deficit. It has also been agreed to set up a Budget Council to evaluate the current grounds of taxation in Mongolia. In order to ensure financial stability, the Bank of Mongolia (central bank) is being audited.
Since the day of the Board’s approval, initial funding has been allocated to Mongolia. Total funding for the three-year EFF program is USD 434.3 million. The initial funding of USD 38.6 million was transferred to the foreign exchange reserve of the central bank of Mongolia, in addition to financing from World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Loan agreements with bilateral partners such as Japan and South Korea are on final stage.
It has been agreed that a monitoring team will visit Mongolia at least once in every three months to look through the mobilization of EFF program. IMF wanted to clarify that it will allocate partial funding on each of the three phases of implementation after careful consideration for the level of EFF program realization.
It has been about two months since commencement of EFF program, for preparation of which, the Parliament has approved the amendments to 2017 State Budget. In its frames, a decision was made by authorities to grant children’s benefits to only 60 percent of children of Mongolia taking into consideration the guardians’ annual incomes. However, right before the second round of the presidential election, the government resolved to grant children’s benefits to all children. Some experts reminded the government is breaching the agreement it has with IMF. Whether it was a violation to the IMF-Mongolia agreement or not is likely to be resolved during the monitoring team’s stay in Mongolia.
During the three-year period of EFF implementation, every budget administrator are tasked to monitor budget revenue and expenditure. It is expected to help reducing budget deficit. It has also been agreed to set up a Budget Council to evaluate the current grounds of taxation in Mongolia. In order to ensure financial stability, the Bank of Mongolia (central bank) is being audited.
B.Amarsaikhan
