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☆ Analysis: IMF plugs financing gaps as riskier emerging markets face squeeze
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Ghana, Egypt, Tunisia and Malawi are all in talks on some type of IMF financing. Countries' debt burdens have risen. Turning to the IMF for financing has been the traditional playbook for smaller, strained countries in times of crisis. A set of new IMF tools should also help funnel more funds to such countries in the short-term. "But IMF does act as an anchor and allows access to a broader set of funding, even if not from the market," said Alexandru-Chidesciuc.

☆ Crisis-hit Sri Lanka — which ran out of fuel earlier this year — snaps up cheap Russian oil for the first time ever
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sri Lanka has been buying large amounts of Russian crude since March 2022. Three months ago, Sri Lanka said it was sending an official delegation to Russia to negotiate oil deals amid a crippling fuel shortage. But it's just one of the emerging markets dealing with economic crises now lining up to buy discounted Russian oil. It's unlikely that Sri Lanka had ever purchased Russian crude before March this year, Kpler's lead crude analyst Viktor Katona said. The US has banned Russian crude and the European Union set to implement an oil embargo on Russian oil by the end of the year.

Paris Club officials reached out to two of Sri Lanka's biggest bilateral creditors after the crisis-hit nation reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund board for a $2.9 billion loan in September. The Paris Club still hasn't received a reply from either country, the person added, asking not to be named because the talks are private. As a middle-income country, Sri Lanka is not able to apply for relief under the Group of 20 common framework for debt treatments. The person added that India and China might be at odds on who should take the first step to engage in close coordination with the Paris club on Sri Lanka. The country also needs to renegotiate around $12 billion with overseas bondholders after defaulting on its international debt earlier this year.

☆ U.S. not expecting any big breakthroughs on debt issues this week -Treasury officials
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationWASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen views debt restructuring as a key priority, but senior Treasury officials said they do not expect any major breakthroughs on debt matters at this week's meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Aiding Sri Lanka, one of the most urgent such cases, would require a process with key creditors outside of the G20 framework, the Treasury official said. Yellen, who last week warned that some countries would need "considerable debt relief," would discuss the issue with her counterparts during the week, a second Treasury official said. The Zambian government told investors on Friday it hoped it would agree debt relief terms with official creditors by the end of the year or early 2023. Chad's creditors are also close to reaching a debt relief agreement, a French Finance Ministry source said on Monday.

☆ Sri Lanka to keep 'middle-income' status but seek concessional loans
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"Sri Lanka will remain a middle-income country," the office said in a statement. "We will request the World Bank to grant the country eligibility to obtain loans offered by the International Development Association (IDA)." The local World Bank office in Colombo had no immediate comment on the Sri Lankan request. It said it would continue its discussions with Sri Lanka and that the "key priority" was to move ahead with debt restructuring and economic reforms to put the country's growth back on track. Sri Lanka reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $2.9 billion bailout in September but has to put its debt on a sustainable path before the funds can be disbursed.

☆ Sri Lanka cabinet approves downgrade to 'low income country'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COLOMBO, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's cabinet has approved a proposal to downgrade the island nation's economic status to "low income country", in order to get access to concessional funding from international organisations, the cabinet spokesman said on Tuesday. Sri Lanka's economy is in a deep slump, shrinking at an annual 8.4% in the June quarter in one of the steepest quarterly declines. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe cabinet had decided to downgrade the island to "low income" on the World Bank list, said cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardane. "Given the serious financial crisis Sri Lanka is facing representatives of international organizations had informed us that if Sri Lanka was categorised as a low income country access to funding would be easier," Gunawardane said. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka, which held policy rates steady last week, is predicting an 8.7% gross domestic product contraction for 2022.

☆ Serious debt crisis unfolding across developing countries - UNDP
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The United Nations' Development Programme (UNDP) joined on Tuesday the chorus of institutions and charities warning that a serious debt crisis is now taking hold in the poorest parts of the world. "A serious debt crisis is unfolding across developing economies, and the likelihood of a worsening outlook is high," the report published on Tuesday said. Without effective debt restructuring, poverty will rise and desperately needed investments in climate adaptation and mitigation will not happen. Its proposal was to expand the Common Framework's eligibility so that all heavily indebted countries could utilise it rather just the 70 or so poorest countries, and for any debt payments to be automatically suspended during the process. "Not only have these countries contributed the least to, but bear the highest cost of, climate change".

☆ Factbox: Strained emerging economies in focus at the IMF World Bank meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

On Friday, the IMF said its executive board approved Kyiv's request for $1.3 billion in emergency funding through a Rapid Financing Instrument. This is on top of $1.4 billion the IMF has provided to Ukraine since the start of the war. Former central bank governor Kyrylo Shevchenko said in July that Kyiv hoped for a $15-$20 billion IMF programme before year-end. On Friday, IMF staff said talks with Ghana's government about a potential loan programme had been constructive but more work was needed on a debt-sustainability analysis. EGYPTA major grain importer that depends heavily on tourism revenue, Egypt has experienced a double whammy from COVID-19 and soaring food prices with no current IMF programme in place.

☆ How the United States is exporting inflation to other countries
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Central banks in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Norway, Indonesia, South Africa, Taiwan, Nigeria and the Philippines followed the Fed in boosting rates over the past week. This dynamic — in which the Fed essentially exports inflation — adds pressure on local central banks. (The Bank of Japan has remained an outlier among major central banks and has resisted hiking rates despite an uptick in inflation.) Nigeria’s central bank hiked rates to 15.5% on Tuesday, much higher than economists had expected. That means the dollar could yet climb further, and other central banks won’t be able to relax.

☆ Sri Lanka looks to revive free trade deal with Singapore
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe looks on during an interview with Reuters at Presidential Secretariat, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka August 18, 2022. REUTERS/ Dinuka LiyanawatteCOLOMBO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will step up efforts to revive a stalled free trade pact with Singapore, President Ranil Wickremesinghe told the city state's premier on Tuesday, his office said in a statement. The free trade pact signed in January 2018 was suspended because of objections from Sri Lankan opposition parties and professional bodies. Sri Lanka proposed more than a dozen amendments in May 2021 but talks have largely stalled. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Uditha Jayasinghe; Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"As a key long-term partner, the ADB stands ready to provide further support," the bank's president, Masatsugu Asakawa, told reporters at its annual gathering. read more"So we are working closely with the government in supporting the country in this challenging time," he added. However, Asia has become more resilient against financial turmoil, with an improved current account balance and sufficient accumulation of foreign reserves, than it was during the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, he added. "It's always a good thing to be very vigilant on this broader capital movement," he added. "I'm also trying to enhance our regional financial co-operation efforts, including that of ASEAN+3," he said, referring to a grouping of China, Japan and South Korea with southeast Asian nations.

☆ China is using civilian ships to enhance navy capability and reach
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Aerial view of fishing boats setting sail to South China Sea for fishing on August 16, 2022 in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province of China. Hundreds of fishing boats anchored for months at a time among disputed islands in the South China Sea. The civilian vessels do more than just augment the raw numbers of ships, performing tasks that would be difficult for the military to carry out. "Because they are ostensibly civilian fishing vessels, navies' ships are unable to deal with them lest China accuse the Philippines of provoking an incident and using force against civilians," he said. In the event of a conflict, China's use of civilian vessels would complicate the rules of engagement, he said.

☆ Explainer: When EU embargo comes, where will Russia sell its crude oil?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"Russian Urals oil has always been a grade for Europe. It’s much easier for it to negotiate private deals than publicly commit to some price limitation dictated by the West," another trader involved in Russian oil trading told Reuters. Russia also supplies Europe with around 3.2 million tonnes of oil per month via the Druzhba pipeline. "Small players are definitely not enough for Russian oil to be absorbed. China is the last resort for the Russian oil or Moscow has to cut output eventually," a third trader involved in the Russian oil market said.

☆ Sri Lanka to unveil debt restructuring plan to creditors
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe looks on during an interview with Reuters at Presidential Secretariat, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka August 18, 2022. The government has already held preliminary restructuring talks with neighbour India and diplomats based in Colombo. "Sri Lanka is focused on trying to get the IMF deal finalised by December or early next year." Sri Lanka's foreign currency debt was $47.3 billion as of end-2021 and local-currency debt at $53.6 billion, according to an update from the Ministry of Finance in August. The foreign currency debt includes $13 billion in international sovereign bonds held largely by private creditors, such as asset managers BlackRock (BLK.N) and Ashmore (ASHM.L).

Sri Lanka is struggling with its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades, which has led to shortages of essentials and the ouster of a president. BILATERAL DEBT TALKSSri Lanka also needs to renegotiate debt with bilateral creditors such as China, Japan and India. As a middle-income country, according to the World Bank, Sri Lanka is not able to engage in talks with bilateral creditors under the G20 common framework for debt treatments. Sri Lanka's total foreign currency debt of $38.7 billion amounts to 48.2% of GDP, the latest IMF report showed in March. The central bank governor said that the country has paid Sri Lanka Development Bonds in both dollar and local currency.

☆ Japan to support Sri Lanka's debt restructuring negotiations
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Reaching an agreement with creditors is key to Sri Lanka securing a $2.9 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "Japan stands by Sri Lanka in support of the debt restructuring negotiation process so that Sri Lanka can reach the final agreement with the IMF," Ambassador Hideaki Mizukoshi said in an interview. Although Japan will support the debt negotiation process, Mizukoshi said that talks on large infrastructure projects will only be resumed after Sri Lanka's economy recovers. Japanese firms have been investing in Sri Lanka since the 1970s, including in the electronics, ceramics and engineering sectors. "We hope that the environment for investment to Sri Lanka will improve."

☆ Factbox: Sri Lanka set to begin talks to restructure debt of $30 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WHY THE NEED TO RESTRUCTURE DEBT? That in turn requires negotiation with private creditors and two-way lenders. That includes $13 billion in international sovereign bonds held largely by private creditors, such as asset managers BlackRock (BLK.N) and Ashmore (ASHM.L). The Paris Club informal group of creditor nations that includes India and Japan holds $4.9 billion of Sri Lanka's debt, and China about $5 billion more. Sri Lanka is the first middle-income country to default after the COVID-19 pandemic.

☆ Hales felt like he was making his 'debut again' after England return
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 21 (Reuters) - England opener Alex Hales said he felt like he was making his debut again after returning to the side for the first time in three years in Tuesday's Twenty20 International win over Pakistan. Hales made 53 from 40 balls and Harry Brook scored an unbeaten 42 as England defeated Pakistan by six wickets in Karachi in the first of the seven T20s. "It was a very special feeling to be back on the park for England," Hales said. To go out and score 50 on my return in a winning team is the stuff dreams are made of. It felt like a debut again, so it was a very special night."

☆ Rate hikes, Ukraine war, China woes dim Asia growth outlook -ADB
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Enrico Dela Cruz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoMANILA, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday cut its growth forecasts for developing Asia for 2022 and 2023 amid mounting risks from increased central bank monetary tightening, the fallout from the war in Ukraine and COVID-19 lockdowns in China. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"Since the April Asian Development Outlook, various headwinds have strengthened," said ADB Chief Economist Albert Park. The outlook for the sub-regions this year remained mixed, with Southeast Asia and Central Asia expected to grow faster than previously projected at 5.1% and 3.9%, respectively. The ADB, however, kept its growth forecast for South Asia at 6.5%, despite a lower growth estimate for India and an economic crisis in Sri Lanka. The Manila-based lender has at the same time raised its inflation forecasts in the region, as supply disruptions continue to boost food and fuel prices.

☆ Sri Lanka inflation rate surges to 70.2% in August
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSri Lankan rupees are seen in a bowl at a vegetable vendor's shop amid the rampant food inflation, amid Sri Lanka's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 29 , 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonSept 21 (Reuters) - Consumer inflation in Sri Lanka accelerated to 70.2% in August,the statistics department said on Wednesday, as the island nation reels under its worst economic crisis in decades. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said in August that the inflation rate would moderate after peaking at about 70% as the country's economy slowed. It acts as a leading indicator for national prices and shows how inflation is evolving in Sri Lanka's biggest city. An acute dollar shortage, caused by economic mismanagement and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, has left Sri Lanka struggling to pay for essential imports including food, fuel, fertiliser and medicine.

☆ EXCLUSIVE U.S. Treasury official criticizes China's 'unconventional' debt practices
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yellen's counselor Brent Neiman plans to criticize China's "unconventional" debt practices and its failure to move forward with debt relief at an event at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a text of his prepared remarks obtained by Reuters shows. Neiman's critique of China's debt practices marks the latest salvo by Western officials and the leaders of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, who have grown weary of delays and broken promises by China and private lenders. He noted that China had engaged in "unconventional" practices that had allowed the IMF to move forward without obtaining standard financing assurances. "In many of these cases, China is not the only creditor holding back quick and effective implementation of the typical (debt restructuring) playbook. But across the international lending landscape, China’s lack of participation in coordinated debt relief is the most common and the most consequential."

☆ A Goldman banker quit his job to build a startup — and scored an Alibaba deal. He shares 4 top tips
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"One of the things that I love the most about e-commerce is that it's fair, it's a fantastic equalizer," said Bjarke Mikkelsen, founder and CEO of Daraz. After spending six years working for Goldman Sachs as an investment banker, Bjarke Mikkelsen faced a dilemma. "The idea was always to build something that was inspired by Amazon and Alibaba, where you have three elements. "If I came in try to build an e-commerce business that look the same way that Amazon looks in Denmark, that would not work," he added. Bjarke Mikkelsen Founder and CEO, Daraz"I didn't know what I was doing … just doing a few things 100% right was very, very challenging."

☆ India starts debt-restructuring talks with Sri Lanka
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterfFILE PHOTO: A Navy officer stands in front of India's and Sri Lanka's national flags as Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Shoor is in the Colombo port during its visit in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 2, 2018. REUTERS/Dinuka LiyanawatteNEW DELHI, Sept 20 (Reuters) - India said on Tuesday it had started bilateral discussions with Sri Lanka on restructuring the crisis-hit neighbour's debt. The first round was held on Sept. 16 "in a cordial atmosphere" that showed India's support for an early conclusion and approval of an International Monetary Fund loan programme for Sri Lanka, the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Uditha Jayasinghe; Writing by Krishna N. Das Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India starts debt-restructuring talks with Sri Lanka, vows support
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A man travels in a train as the Colombo harbour is seen, amid the country's economic crisis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 20, 2022. "The discussions held in a cordial atmosphere symbolise India's support to early conclusion and approval of a suitable IMF programme for Sri Lanka," the High Commission said. Reuters reported last week, citing sources, that India did not plan to provide fresh financial support to Sri Lanka, as the island's battered economy had begun to stabilise. read moreThe High Commission said India had ongoing development projects worth about $3.5 billion in Sri Lanka, whose president earlier this month asked his officials to resolve obstacles to projects backed by India. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said Sri Lanka will turn a free trade agreement with India into a comprehensive economic and technological partnership.

read moreAnd Pakistan's central bank reserves of $8.6 billion are sufficient for just about a month of imports. However, the Bangladesh central bank's executive director, Serajul Islam, told Reuters, "No such decision has been taken yet," in reference to trade in local currencies with India. Last week, the Bangladesh central bank freed up banks to do transactions in Chinese yuan, so as to enable trade with China. "SBI's circular is very alarming, as they have said not to take exposure on Bangladesh exports," the exporter added. "Bangladesh is a major trading partner and if a premier bank like SBI does not take exposure, how will the trade grow?

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