IMF Approves El Salvador Funds

The IMF says it has approved a 36-month, SDR513.9m (about $790m) stand-by arrangement (SBA) for El Salvador to help the country mitigate the adverse effects of the global crisis. The new arrangement, which the authorities intend to treat as precautionary, will succeed the 15-month SBA approved in January 2009. The objectives of the program are to speed up the economic recovery, reduce poverty, preserve financial stability, increase the reach and efficiency of social programs and secure debt sustainability. One of the immediate priorities is to support domestic demand through a countercyclical fiscal policy in 2010, which includes modernizing the country’s road network and bolstering electricity generation. El Salvador’s IMF quota is SDR171.3m (about $261.3m).