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Chile on Friday acquired a short-term liquidity line (SLL) of about $ 3.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), aimed at supporting the South American country’s economy as it recovers from the COVID-19 epidemic.
Chilean authorities have also informed the IMF of their decision to withdraw from their current two-year flexible credit line, which is due to expire at the end of the month.
The credit line has no conditions and provides “predictable, revolving and renewable liquidity assistance in foreign currency,” Anna Corbacho, head of Chile’s mission to the IMF, told reporters on Friday.
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Chilean authorities plan to consider renewable SLLs as “precautionary”, the IMF said in a statement.
Korbacho said a strong vaccination campaign has led copper-producing countries globally to fight Kovid-19 and help the country return to pre-epidemic output levels by 2021.
In a statement, Bo Lee, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, credited Chile with “a very strong fundamental and a sustainable track record of policy framework and policy implementation that has supported the country’s resilience in the face of major shocks.”
Chile’s central bank echoed the IMF in a statement, citing “normalization of exceptional measures implemented during the epidemic and low risks related to health emergencies” as reasons for adopting the SLL.
The Chilean Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Peter Frontini, Carolina Police and Brendon O’Boyle; Editing by Sandra Mailer and Bill Barcrot)