FILE PHOTO: Newly-appointed Ukrainian Finance Minister Oksana Markarova attends a parliament session in Kiev, Ukraine November 22, 2018. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine hopes to raise new sovereign debt backed by a guarantee from the World Bank again this year though the size of the issue has not been decided yet, Finance Minister Oksana Markarova told Reuters on Monday. The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other bodies support Ukraine’s war-scarred economy with loan agreements conditional on Kiev passing reforms and tackling corruption. The country borrowed 529 million euros under World Bank guarantee in March after securing a new standby loan agreement from the IMF late last year. It expects to receive two IMF loan tranches worth a combined $2.5 billion in May and November. Investors are also watching whether Ukraine will continue to pass reforms while holding a presidential election this April and a parliamentary election in October. “We are working with the World Bank on the next guarantee. We would like to (get the loan) this year. We are working on the maximum possible amount, but it is too early to say specific figures,” Markarova said. “About the IMF program: everything goes well on the implementation of the program,” she told Reuters on the sidelines of a business conference. Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Hugh Lawson
Ukraine wants to raise new sovereign debt , supported by a guarantee from the World Bank , according to Oksana Markarova , the country 's finance minister . Its war - torn economy has been supported with loans from the World Bank , International Monetary Fund and other bodies on the condition that the government passes reforms and tackles corruption . Markarova said Ukraine was working with the World Bank on the next steps with the aim of obtaining a loan of the maximum possible amount later this year , but added it was too early to give specific figures .