IMF May Lend Georgia $750M To Buoy Confidence

The International Monetary Fund is considering lending Georgia $750 million to help buoy investor confidence after Russia's invasion, according to a fund official involved in the negotiations.

Georgia is dependent on foreign capital to finance its trade deficit, raising concern that the country's economy may suffer if overseas investment slows. The IMF sent a mission to the country to assess the damage and the fund's board is likely to consider a loan or credit line soon, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

IMF help for Georgia would underscore the international commitment to help the Caucasus nation, which America and western European countries have backed in the conflict with Russia. America, Britain, France, and other members of the Group of Seven industrial nations are supporting the bid for financing, the person said. IMF officials have praised the economic policies of the Georgian government in recent weeks. The first deputy managing director of the IMF, John Lipsky, said earlier this month that "Georgia had undergone some rather successful structural reform" and developed a "much more efficient market economy." The U.S. Treasury has offered its verbal support for Georgia. "Given its sound macroeconomic and fiscal polices and excellent progress in transition to a market economy, Georgia is well placed to weather the current crisis," the deputy treasury secretary, Robert Kimmitt, said in a statement.