By Jorgelina do Rosario
LONDON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund executive board will meet on July 12 to complete the first review of its $1.3 billion extended fund facility (EFF) programme for Zambia, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The board meeting comes after Africa’s second-biggest copper producer clinched a deal with bilateral creditors such as China and the Paris Club to rework about $6.3 billion of overseas debt. The country will have access to around $188 million after the review is completed.
The IMF reached in April a staff-level agreement on the first review, but a debt restructuring agreement with official creditors was needed before the board could complete the programme’s review.
An IMF spokesperson didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Jorgelina do Rosario, editing by Rodrigo Campos and Chizu Nomiyama)
