Kyrgyzstan's economy grows 8.7 percent in first 9 months: IMF

BISHKEK. November 10. KAZINFORM Kyrgyzstan's economy has seen strong growth of 8.7 percent in the first nine months of 2011 compared with the similar period of 2010, the IMF's representative to the country said Thursday; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

The International Monetary Fund believes the Kyrgyz economy is recovering steadily, Koba Gvenetadze said at a press conference to present an IMF report on the economic outlook for the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Inflation in Kyrgyzstan is slowing thanks to tighter monetary policy, a recovery in agricultural, an upturn in trade and lower world food prices, Gvenetadze said.

Since the middle of 2010, Kyrgyzstan has seen the highest inflation among oil and gas importers in the Caucasus and Central Asia, he said. Inflation accelerated from five percent in May 2010 to 20 percent in January 2011 and peaked at 20 to 23 percent in April and June.

But in September, inflation slowed to 10 percent, approaching the figure in Tajikistan, Gvenetadze said.

However, the IMF believes Kyrgyzstan's economic indicators would deteriorate primarily due to external factors.

The deterioration of the situation in the world could have an impact on the Kyrgyz economy, slowing growth and reducing demand for Kyrgyz exports and income from migrants in Russia and Kazakhstan, as well as hampering the recovery of the banking sector, Gvenetadze said.