"The reform introduces a competitive market-based determination of the exchange rate and addresses a long-standing distortion within the Ethiopian economy," the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) said in a statement. The IMF board on Monday approved a four-year loan programme worth around $3.4 billion to support the reforms, with around $1 billion immediately disbursed. "This a landmark moment for Ethiopia" and the loan is a testament to the country's "strong commitment to transformative reforms", IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement. Analysts had said the IMF was demanding several reforms of Ethiopia's state-controlled economy, including floating the currency, in order to unlock the funding. Among other measures, it said it would allow foreign exchange to be retained by exporters and commercial banks to boost supplies to the private sector, and announced the introduction of non-bank foreign exchange bureaus.
