IMF reaches staff-level deal with Papua New Guinea, potentially unlocking about $189 million

IMF reaches staff-level deal with Papua New Guinea, potentially unlocking about $189 million Oct 6 : The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday it has reached a staff-level agreement with Papua New Guinea on reviews of its funding facilities, potentially unlocking up to $189 million once approved by the fund's executive board. • IMF staff and Papua New Guinea reached a staff-level agreement on the final reviews of the ECF, EFF and RSF arrangements. If the IMF board approves it, the country would receive about $82 million right away and up to about $107 million in climate financing. Total IMF money paid out would then reach about $1.19 billion. • The IMF expects real GDP growth to slow to 3.1 per cent in 2026 from 6.2 per cent in 2025, as LNG output levels off, El Nino hurts farming and mining, and the war in the Middle East pushes up import costs. Headline inflation is expected to rise to 4.8 per cent. • The government met all but one quantitative performance criterion and all indicative targets for end-June 2026. It missed its fiscal deficit target in the first half of the year but passed a supplementary budget in September and still aims to keep the 2026 deficit to 1.6 billion Papua New Guinea kina ($345.28 million). ($1 = 4.6339 kinas)