ULAN BATOR, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia will soon receive the fifth tranche of funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), equal to around 36.22 million U.S. dollars, the country's central bank said Thursday.
The amount is part of the IMF's three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Mongolia totaling about 434.3 million U.S. dollars, which was approved at the meeting of the IMF Executive Board on May 24, 2017.
According to the Bank of Mongolia, the IMF Executive Board completed the fifth review of Mongolia's performance on Wednesday under the program.
"Mongolia has continued to make good progress under the Fund-supported program," Mitsuhiro Furusawa, deputy managing director of the IMF, said after the Executive Board's discussion.
"Helped by favorable commodity exports, a recovery in confidence, and strong program implementation, growth has accelerated further, leading to improvements in the fiscal position and debt dynamics," said Furusawa, who is also the acting chair of the IMF Executive Board.
"The fiscal accounts have posted a primary surplus, reflecting both a sharp increase in revenues and continued expenditure restraint. Meanwhile, past over-performance allowed the authorities to meet key reserve targets, despite a recent rise in balance of payments pressures," Furusawa said.
"However, Mongolia remains vulnerable to external and domestic shocks. Thus, the country's authorities should take advantage of the still favorable economic environment to further bolster fiscal and external buffers, strengthen the banking sector, and improve the investment climate," he said.
The authorities should continue efforts to protect social spending, strengthen tax administration, and improve public financial management, he added, stressing that a dedicated implementation of the authorities' reform program is key to building resilience against shocks and ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth.
Thanks to the IMF's program, Mongolia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.1 percent year on year in 2017, higher than the 3.3 percent forecast by the IMF.
The IMF has predicted that Mongolia's GDP growth will reach 5 percent this year and 6.3 percent next year.
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