Press notice of the Office of the Resident Representative in Romania of International Monetary Fund
26.11.2003
The Office of the IMF Resident Representative in Romania has issued the following statement:
An IMF mission visited Bucharest from November 9-26 for initial talks on a successor precautionary Stand-by arrangement, and will return to continue discussions.
The policy discussions focused on how to maintain the good performance under the previousIMF arrangement in light of strong domestic demand pressures. The recent surge in consumer credit is of particular concern, and will require a tightening of fiscal and monetary policies to contain the impact on inflation and the growing current account deficit.
Structural policies discussed aim at accelerating privatization, tackling the remaining lossmaking sectors, phasing in energy sector reforms and other measures to ensure sustained economic growth and strengthen Romania’s ability to withstand the competitive pressures that will follow EC accession.