YEREVAN, December 13. /ARKA/. The Armenian parliament has ratified today a loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank to the tune of $40 million.

Deputy finance minister Armen Hayrapetyan said the loan is to be utilized before the end of 20017 and this was why the agreement was submitted for consideration of an extraordinary session of the parliament.

According to the deputy minister, the loan would be provided to the government on favorable terms with a maturity period of 15 years, semi-annual rate of Libor + 0.5%, and a three-year grace period.

The deputy minister explained that the money will be used to improve the management of the state debt and fiscal risks in order to better fiscal and financial discipline and transparency--0-