IMF deal now sealed

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer - JAMAICA will get nearly US$2 billion in loans over the next four years from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) under the Extended Fund Facility approved by the IMF yesterday. Nearly US$1 billion in funding from the IMF, starting with an almost immediate drawdown of US$207 million, will complement just over US$1 billion in funding from both the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, bringing the total loan package to nearly US$2 billion. Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Peter Phillips, in announcing the agreement in the House of Representatives, yesterday, denied claims by the Opposition that there is a US$1-billion loan ceiling over the life of the agreement.