IMF Extends Visit To Crisis-Hit Lebanon: Sources

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will continue meetings with the Lebanese authorities on Monday, extending a visit to provide technical advice that was expected to end Sunday.

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According to sources close to the process, the IMF began meetings with the Lebanese authorities on Feb. 20 to provide comprehensive technical advice on how to deal with the country's overwhelming financial and economic crisis. The fund initially said that its team would stay until Feb. 23.

Lebanon has not requested financial assistance from the IMF yet it is developing a rescue plan to address a long-running financial crisis that started last year when capital flows slowed and protests against the ruling elite erupted.

Sources familiar with the meetings said the talks would continue until the Lebanese government made a decision on technical assistance issues. The results of the meetings were "positive," they added, without specifying further.

Lebanon is dealing with an acute liquidity crisis that has led banks, which fear capital flight, to impose strict controls. The Lebanese pound has plummeted by about 60 percent in a parallel market, driving up inflation.

Burdened with one of the world's highest public debt, Lebanon is running out of time with approaching debt payments that include a US$1.2 billion Eurobond due on March 9.

Credit rating agencies Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Moody's downgraded Lebanon's credit rating to a deeper level, citing anticipated losses by creditors for what they said was a likely debt restructuring.