Senegal says IMF concerned over 'very large amount' of liquidity needs

By Ngouda Dione

DAKAR, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund has concerns over Senegal's liquidity needs, the country's finance minister said on Friday.

Senegal is in talks with the Fund for a new lending programme as it grapples with the fallout of billions in debts that were not reported by the previous administration.

Finance Minister Cheikh Diba told parliament that Senegal needed a "very large amount" of financing totalling 6,000 billion CFA francs ($10.60 billion) annually on average.

"And the IMF believes we cannot guarantee this over the debt sustainability horizon," Diba said. "We, however, believe it is possible."

The IMF did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Diba said the government was also working to "review all problematic sources and propose refinancing instead."

"When we replace this debt with more acceptable terms and longer maturities, we create fiscal space," he said.

The government expected to free up more than 500 billion CFA francs in budgetary space for 2025 through "active debt management," Diba said.

Senegal's government bonds fell after the comments, with the near-term maturities shedding roughly 2 cents. The euro-denominated bonds bid at 73.15 cents, while the dollar-denominated 2031 note bid at 64.88 cents.

($1 = 566.0000 CFA francs)