National Bank of Kazakhstan wants to pay back $400 mln IMF loan ahead of schedule

/IRBIS, May 18, 00/ - REUTERS informs, with the reference to the chairman of the bank, Grigorii Marchenko, that the National Bank of Kazakhstan does not need the funds of International monetary fund (IMF) and therefore, it is ready to pay its $400 mln debt back to International monetary fund (IMF) ahead of schedule - till July 1. Marchenko said gold and currency reserves of the country were steadily growing and in the last nine months and for the year 2000, as a whole, positive current balance was expected, hence there is no need for IMF money. The chairman clarified that the matter is about the remaining principal amounts of the debts - about $400 mln - of the loans granted beginning from 1993: STF, Stand-by-1, Stand-by-2, EFF. It is said that gold and currency reserves of the country have grown up to $2.083 bln in two weeks of May from $1.981 as of April 30, and from $1.598 bln in March of 1999, just before Kazakhstan switched to free floating exchange rate. Growth in gold and currency reserves of Kazakhstan in April is believed to happen due to inflow of hard currency ($124 mln) from the launch of $350 mln eurobonds maturing in 2007, and due to currency purchases in domestic market. The chairman of the National Bank gave preliminary statistical data on the payment balance in the first quarter of the year 2000, where positive balance of current accounts, that is surplus of exports of goods and services over the imports of goods and services equaled $490 mln. In the fourth quarter of last year positive balance equaled $427 mln. Marchenko said Kazakhstan was not refusing to cooperate with International monetary fund, while returning its debt ahead of schedule. He said all criteria have been met as of April 1 and when the money is returned the program will continue. He added there was a need for the program to the discipline, to the market. He cited the president who said that there was no need for this money as we have already grown up.