The International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board has approved reviews of Papua New Guinea’s lending arrangements, unlocking about $US163 million ($A231 million) in combined disbursements.
The Extended Fund Facility and Extended Credit Facility arrangements were approved in 2023, to address a protracted balance of payments problem that caused foreign exchange shortages.
The 24-month Resilience and Sustainability Facility arrangement, approved in 2024, for SDR 197.4 million, aims to address risks to balance of payments stability from climate change.
The sixth EFF/ECF review completion provided Papua New Guinea with immediate access to about $US82 million under the arrangements.
The third RSF review makes available about $US81 million to address longer-term structural balance of payments vulnerabilities associated with climate change.
All quantitative performance criteria and indicative targets for end-December 2025 and all indicative targets for end-March 2026 under the EFF/ECF arrangements were met, the IMF said.
All six structural benchmarks due were met or implemented with delay.
IMF sees growth in Papua New Guinea easing to 3.8 per cent in 2026 from an estimated 5.6 per cent in 2025.
It sees headline inflation modestly increasing to 4.8 per cent in 2026, with higher import costs partially offset by the extension of goods and services tax relief through end-2026.
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