IMF wants budget, banking reforms, says Ukraine president

Updated at: 0510 PST, Tuesday, October 28, 2008 ANKARA: A multi-billion-dollar IMF bail-out of Ukraine will require budget reforms, stabilisation of the banking sector and fresh investment in key export areas, President Viktor Yushchenko said here Monday. The 16.5-billion-dollar loan (13.1 billion euros), made public Sunday, is conditional on Ukraine's deeply divided parliament adopting a raft of anti-crisis laws, said Yushchenko, speaking through a translator. He appealed to deputies not to block the package when came before them on Tuesday. Yuschenko explained that the programme agreed with the International Monetary Fund dealt with four key areas. One was a tightening of budgetary policy.