Press Release No. 06/180

Press Release: IMF Executive Board Completes Second Review Under São Tomé and Príncipe's Three-Year PRGF Arrangement and Approves US$600,000 Disbursement

August 17, 2006

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed on August 2 the second review of São Tomé and Príncipe's economic performance under a three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement. The completion of the review, which was undertaken on a lapse of time basis¹, enabled the release of an amount equivalent to SDR 0.4 million (about US$600,000), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 1.27 million (about US$1.9 million).

The Executive Board approved the three-year arrangement on August 1, 2005 (see Press Release No. 05/187), for a total amount of SDR 2.96 million (about US$4.4 million) to support the government's economic program for 2005-2007.

¹ The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse of time procedure when the Board agrees that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.