The Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has expressed reservations about the International Monetary Fund's proposals for Lebanon, which included floating the Lebanese pound pegged to the dollar at its current level for more than 20 years and raising fuel prices.
Hariri said at the House of Representatives during the discussion of the draft budget for 2019 that, "the International Monetary Fund has some reservations, but also we cannot adopt everything that the IMF is requesting. Floating the Lebanese pound as requested by the IMF is likely to have implications averse to the Lebanese economy based on the stability of the Lebanese pound."
"The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also demanded an increase in fuel charges and an increase in VAT. In this regard, I would like to say that we are always negotiating with the International Monetary Fund in a way that suits the interest of Lebanon and the Lebanese currency," he said.
On the low-interest bond issuance plan, Hariri disclosed the agreement with the finance minister and the central bank so that the issue is done voluntarily by the banks.
Source: (Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed newspaper, Edited)
