Colombia has drawn $5.4bn from flexible credit line, IMF says

BOGOTA: Colombia has drawn $5.4 billion from its flexible credit line with the International Monetary Fund, the body said on Thursday, which the country will use to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The authorities will use the drawing to help meet higher financing needs whilst maintaining strong external buffers in a context of heightened global uncertainty," the IMF said in a statement.

The resources will "provide support for the budgetary response to the COVID-19 pandemic while at the same time allowing Colombia to maintain sufficient international liquidity," the statement added.

The Andean country, which locked down for more than five months in a bid to slow coronavirus infections, has some $12.2 billion still available from its credit line.

The IMF increased the credit line, originally for some $10.8 billion, in September. The head of the central bank said at the time the government would likely draw about $5.3 billion as part of its fiscal plan.

In a separate announcement on Thursday, the central bank said it would buy $1.5 billion from the government for its international reserves.

The purchase will "strengthen the level of the country's international reserves in line with its policy of covering long-term external risks," the bank said in a statement.

The bank expects the Colombian economy to contract between 6.5% and 9% this year.

The country has drastically increased its indebtedness to attend to the economic crisis created by the pandemic, widening its fiscal deficit target to 8.9% of gross domestic product from 2.2% originally.