"They won't put money into the programme but it won't be just technical assistance; they will probably take a special advisory role to be created especially for the Greek bailout," the second source said. "Talks this week just made it clear that the IMF just can't come on board formally. ""They will remain part of the troika and be at all the talks," the source added.Greek and IMF officials held talks at the Funds' fall meetings in Washington this week, discussing this special status, which was supported by the Greek side. "We have not changed our mind on this. This discussion we will have in the coming months," Thomsen said.The Greek economy has suffered from a deep recession with demand weighed down by fiscal cutbacks, a heavy tax burden, capital controls and a lack of investment.The sources added that while the IMF is officially expecting the economy to grow by 0.1 percent, the actual figure is still likely to be in negative territory.

Source: The Star October 08, 2016 21:56 UTC