Lebanon formally requests IMF help but stops short of asking for a bailout – The National

Lebanon formally requests IMF help but stops short of asking for a bailout – The National

Lebanon formally requests IMF help but stops short of asking for a bailout. The country needs to pay $1.2bn due in March when a Eurobond hits maturity, another $700m in April and $600m in June. Lebanon formally asked for the help of the International Monetary Fund to help the country overcome its worst economic crisis since the end of a 15-year civil war, but stopped short of requesting a bailout package.. While the Lebanon was able to escape the 2008 global credit crisis relatively unscathed due to a high interest rate regime, which lured more than $1bn a month in capital flows that financed the deficits -- the outbreak of war in neighbouring Syria in 2011 and internal political jostling paralysed the country.. The flow of funds to Lebanese lenders slowed and led to negative deposit growth, while the economy has contracted.. Last month the IIF estimated Lebanon will need an $8.5bn bailout package from the IMF to break its economic impasse, help it meet its future financing needs and restore growth.. Even with $11bn of pledges Lebanon received at the Cedar donor conference in 2018, which are tied to reforms that need to be undertaken by the country, Lebanon's