IMF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT LOAN.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the second yearly installment of an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF), valued at US$46.1 million, reports Agencia EFE (September 17, 1999). The IMF said the loan is meant to support Nicaragua's current economic program. IMF first deputy manager director Stanley Fischer said the organization was satisfied "with Nicaragua's macroeconomic, structural and social policies in 1998 and thus far in 1999." The ESAF is a concessional IMF facility that helps eligible members with structural reforms underway to strengthen their balance of payments and enhance their growth prospects.