RABAT, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Morocco began on Tuesday to draw on a Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) for an amount equivalent to nearly 3 billion U.S. dollars, to help deal with economic problems caused by COVID-19, the central bank said in a statement on Wednesday.
This International Monetary Fund (IMF) precautionary and liquidity line is repayable over five years with a grace period of three years, the statement added.
The two-year PLL was approved by the IMF on December 2018 to help Morocco ward off external economic shocks, and support the authorities' efforts to strengthen the economy's resilience. Morocco's monetary authorities have not used it yet.
The Moroccan government on Monday lifted the country's 3-billion-US-dollar ceiling on external loans in order to borrow more over COVID-19 concerns.
This measure will allow the North African country to benefit from additional loans from international institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
Morocco has so far reported 1,242 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 91 deaths and 97 recoveries.
