News & Analysis: IMF
“It would be a historic act of collective statesmanship if G20 countries agreed that the bulk of the new SDR allocations should fund Africa. And if the IMF and the multilateral development banks match the first SDR allocation with funds from their own considerable resources and make good their commitments on debt relief, we have the makings of a $2tn 21st-century Marshall Plan for the developing world.”
“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the Fifth and Sixth reviews of Guinea’s economic performance under the program supported by an Extended Credit Facility (ECF). Completion of these last two reviews of the ECF-supported program enables the immediate disbursement of the equivalent of SDR 34.43 million (about US$49.47 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to the equivalent of SDR 120.49 million (about US$166.60 million).”
“Policymakers and central bankers in the West African Monetary Zone are tackling COVID-19-induced difficulties in the maintenance of price, financial system stability and sustainable growth in their economies. The central bank governors met in Lagos to discuss diverse and tailored measures deployed by them to meet the peculiar shocks the pandemic had exposed their individual economies. “
COVID-19 Africa Watch talks to Dr. Youssef Boutros-Ghali, former Finance Minister of Egypt and former chairman of the IMF’s International Monetary and Financial Committee, about the economic impact of the pandemic, the policy response, SDRs, and more.
“The International Monetary Fund granted the Republic of South Sudan a $52 million emergency disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility to help its economy weather the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first time this new and still fragile country has received financial support from the IMF.”
“The appeal of SDRs for developing countries is that they fill a gap in the toolkit available to advanced economies: money creation. While advanced economies have been able effectively to print money by buying their own bonds in a world of low or negative interest rates, most developing countries cannot do that without risking instability.”
“Zambia’s debt default shows that Western lenders need to develop new ways of factoring existing Chinese loans into their decisions. In essence, the long-term consequence of Zambia’s default may be to deter Western lending to countries where China is already a creditor.”
“The human toll and global economic disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic triggered unprecedented demand for financing. More than 1/3 of the IMF’s membership have received relief from the Fund. Since the onset of the pandemic, the IMF has responded rapidly and decisively to meet urgent and exceptional demand for financial assistance from its membership.”
“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the fourth and fifth reviews of Burkina Faso’s economic program under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). Completion of these reviews, which constitute the last two under the ECF-supported program, unlocks access to SDR 36.12 million (about US$51.28 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 108.36 million (about US$152.58 million). “
“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved a disbursement of SDR 36.9 million (about US$52.3 million or 15 percent of its SDR quota) to South Sudan under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) . This is the first Fund supported financial assistance provided to South Sudan since it joined the Fund in 2012.”
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