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IMF: Hungary On Track With Austerity Program

BUDAPEST -(Dow Jones)- Hungary's austerity program is on track, the International Monetary Fund's resident representative in the country said Wednesday.

"So far, so good, the program has been on track," Iryna Ivaschenko said in an interview on business news channel CNBC.

Results of a fourth review of Hungary's austerity measures should be published in the next two weeks, she said. The review is being conducted by a delegation of the IMF, the European Union and the World Bank.

Hungary received a EUR20 billion joint credit line from the IMF, the EU and the World Bank in October 2008, when its access to credit froze due to loose fiscal policy and large external debt. The country was hit hard by the global economic crisis, and was the first EU nation to secure financial help from the IMF.

Ivaschenko said the minority government has made serious efforts to tighten Hungary's fiscal policy.

"The current government is committed to the budget of 2010," she said.

The parliament approved the key points of the 2010 budget bill Tuesday. Final approval of the budget bill is due Nov. 30.

Company Web site: www.mvm.hu

-By Veronika Gulyas, Dow Jones Newswires; +361-267-0623; veronika.gulyas@ dowjones.com

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  11-04-091236ET
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