The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it completed the fourth and final review of Romania's economic performance under a Stand-By Arrangement, which will enable Romania to draw the remaining $158m from the IMF immediately.

The Executive Board also approved Romania's request for waivers on non-observance of four performance criteria. The 18-month Stand-By Arrangement was approved on October 31, 2001 for a total amount of about $431m. On April 25, 2003, the Board extended the arrangement through October 15.

So far, Romania has drawn $273m under the arrangement from the IMF.

(NewsBase 20.x.03)