Belarus Headlines

The International Monetary Fund has completed its visit to Belarus. Chris Jarvis, who led a two-week long mission, said the country needs to show its commitment to market reforms and prove it with concrete steps to get a bailout from the fund. The IMF called on Belarusian authorities to cut inflation which was eating away at ordinary Belarusians' incomes and raised inflationary expectations, and to continue cutting state spending and increase interest rates above inflation, as well as to restrain wage growth, explaining that the wage increase in November 2010 spurred the March 2011 financial crisis. Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Siarhei Rumas said the government arrived at the decision to abandon a multiple exchange rate and unify two trading sessions: one at which the rate was set by supply and demand and the other where the central bank actively intervened. Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Miasnikovich, meanwhile, in a statement said Minsk hoped to obtain between three and seven million dollars in new IMF loans. Belarusian officials also shared their plans to privatise major state-owned corporations in 2012, further reduce social spending, tighten credit and cut imports.