Ukraine Passes Legislation Needed for Next Slice of IMF Bailout

Ukraine’s parliament passed laws required for the International Monetary Fund to release the next tranche of a $17.5 billion bailout loan.

Lawmakers in Kiev Thursday approved bills on utility prices, anti-corruption efforts, deposit guarantees and improvements in the ability of the state energy company to collect receivables. The Washington-based lender’s board may meet July 31 to seal the next $1.7 billion aid transfer, central bank Governor Valeriya Gontareva said Wednesday.

Ukraine, battling a pro-Russian insurgency in its easternmost regions, needs cash as it grapples with a second year of recession and tries to revive the world’s worst-performing currency during the past 12 months. The government is also seeking debt relief from foreign creditors in talks this week in the U.S. that the two sides said had made progress.

One of the laws passed Thursday was sought by the World Bank, which is supplying aid outside the IMF rescue.