IMF approves 3.47 billion USD precautionary line for Morocco

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a new two-year arrangement for Morocco under the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) for 3.47 billion U.S. dollars, local media reported on Saturday.

The access under the arrangement in the first year will be equivalent to about 1.73 billion U.S. dollars, Morocco's leading financial daily l'Economiste reported.

The new PLL arrangement will provide Morocco with useful insurance against external shocks as the authorities pursue their reform agenda aimed at further strengthening the economy's resilience and fostering higher and more inclusive economic growth, it said.

Moroccan authorities have stated that they plan to treat the arrangement as precautionary, as they have done under the previous two arrangements, and they do not intend to draw under the PLL unless Morocco experiences actual balance of payment needs from a significant deterioration of external conditions, it added.

It noted that in recent years, Moroccan authorities have successfully reduced fiscal and external vulnerabilities and implemented key reforms with the support of two successive 24-month PLL arrangements.

Morocco's first PLL arrangement for about 6.21 billion U.S. was approved on August 3, 2012, whereas Morocco's second 24-month PLL arrangement for about 5 billion U.S. dollars at was approved on July 28, 2014. Endit