Ecuador’s international reserves they hit a record high of $ 7,377,000 last December 23rd, Reported this Monday the Central Bank of Andean country.
This is the highest level reached in the last twenty years, since dollarization began in the country, which helps to secure the deposits of citizens, public and private agents, as well as resources for the management and execution of works of different levels of government, he indicated.
He pointed out that as of Dec. 22, international reserves had been set at levels of $ 5,347,000, Before the country received the second disbursement of $ 2.03 billion, under the agreement on the Extended Service with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Thus, the international financial community “demonstrates its support for the actions implemented by the Ecuadorian Government to maintain an orderly management of public finances,” it said in a statement.
He added that these resources “generate confidence in the economy and contribute to the strengthening of dollarization, the reactivation of the productive apparatus and the expansion of the coverage of social assistance programs.”
IMF DISBURSEMENT
On December 23, the second IMF-approved $ 2 billion disbursement arrived in Ecuador.
The delivery of these resources came after the approval of the IMF board at the first review of targets scheduled with the South American country, “both quantitative and indicative, from the quarter of July to September 2020 , where there was evidence of full compliance with them, “said a statement from Finance.
The Minister of Economy and Finance, Mauricio Pou, commented that “the destination of international disbursements (…) is to meet expenses related to health, education and social protection.”
And he added that the resources received will also serve “to reduce arrears that the tax office has with suppliers, Decentralized Autonomous Governments and other entities related to the General State Budget.”
The possibility of making late payments to suppliers and local governments will “inject liquidity into the economy, and contribute to its reactivation.”
To meet its goals, Ecuador has had to make amendments to legislation to combat corruption, including the Anti-Corruption Act passed this month by the National Assembly (Parliament).
In this area, the Ecuadorian Government is also working with the Comptroller General of the State to improve the publication and availability of detailed information on the financial statements of senior civil servants.
The payment of the credit agreement is agreed to a 10-year term, with a grace period of four and an interest rate of 2.9 percent.
With this item, Ecuador has received a pandemic this year of about 7 billion dollars from multilateral agencies, although there are still to reach by the end of the year about 260 million Development Bank of Latin America-CAF.
The goal with all these loans is to plug the fiscal hole caused by the voluminous debt inherited from previous governments and the devastating consequences of the pandemic.
This month alone, the country has also received 514 million from the World Bank, 261 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and 138 million from the CAF.
On September 30, the IMF Board approved an agreement under the IMF’s Extended Service (EFF) for the country to access, exceptionally, $ 6.5 billion.
Of these, 4 billion to be received in 2020, 1.5 billion in 2021 and 1 billion in 2022.