The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on December 5, 2016—without an Executive Board meeting[1]—an extension of Malawi’s arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) to June 30, 2017. This extension will provide additional time for the authorities to achieve the program’s objectives.

The ECF arrangement for Malawi was approved on July 23, 2012 (see Press Release No. 12/273) in an amount equivalent to SDR 104.1 million (about US$146.7 million). An earlier extension of the arrangement from June 30, 2016 to December 2016 and an augmentation of access by the equivalent of SDR 34.7 million (about US$ 49.2 million or 25 percent of quota) was approved by the Board on June 20, 2016 (see Press Release No. 16/295) to strengthen the country’s response to the El Niño-induced drought. The program is aimed at the achievement and maintenance of macroeconomic stability and implementation of policies and structural reforms to spur growth, diversify the economy and reduce poverty.

[1]The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse of time procedure when it is agreed by the Board that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.