IMF Says Gathering Data for Iran Loan

The International Monetary Fund is collecting data from Iran over its request for a $5 billion emergency loan to contain the COVID-19 spread, Jihad Azour, director of IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department said. 
"We have received a request and given the limited engagement we have over the recent times with Iran. It's taking more time to gather information required to process that request,” he told the Financial Tribune's sister publication, Donya-e-Eqtesad on Tuesday.
“The priorities [for Tehran] are  to protect lives and do whatever it takes to redirect resources and make funding available to address this issue.”
In its 2020 Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia, published on Wednesday, the IMF said Iran's economy is expected to contract by 6% this year, against a 7.6% contraction in 2019.
Inflation - which spiked after the United States imposed nes sanctions - is expected to hit 34.2% this year, down from 41.1% last year.
Last month the Central Bank of Iran requested $5 billion in emergency loans from the fund to help the government contain the spread of the virus and mitigate its dangerous economic impact.  
Abdolnasser Hemmati, governor of the Central Bank of Iran, said Tuesday that Iran has presented all the required data to the crisis lender, adding that the delay in releasing the funds is because of IMF's spring meeting. 
"We have clarified that the money will be transferred through INSTEX and the Swiss government's payment channel, and will be used for importing medicine and medical equipment," he said.
The CBI has expressed the hope that the implied US opposition would not undermine “the professional image of the IMF and its mandate to aid member countries during this historical period” and the global health crisis of epic proportions. 
Iran has been hit the hardest hit by the coronavirus in the Middle East. The number of new cases reached 76,389 cases on Wednesday and the death toll rose to 4,777 since the viral outbreak in mid-February in Iran
Fears over infectious disease have shuttered many businesses, forced others to work below capacity, order staff to work from home and furlough workers. 
People in most cities and towns prefer to work at home following persistent calls for self-quarantine by the government and senior health officials.