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☆ IMF's Georgieva says 28 countries have expressed interest in new IMF support
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva holds a news conference at the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund during the Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, U.S., October 13, 2022. REUTERS/James Lawler DugganWASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday said that the Washington-based lender has provided $90 billion on 18 new and augments programs since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, and 28 countries have expressed interest in receiving new IMF support. Georgieva said during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington that the Fund's lending is "aligned with our counter-cyclical role," and since the pandemic began it has provided $260 billion in financial support to 93 countries. "And we now have 28 additional countries expressing interest in receiving support from the Fund," she added during a press conference, without providing any further details on which countries are on the list or what kind of support they are seeking. "We need stronger efforts to confront food insecurity — 345 million people are acutely food insecure," Georgieva added.

Together with Ethiopia and Zambia, Chad was one of three initial countries to seek a debt restructuring under a G20 initiative. That could happen in 2024, the source said, when Chad will face a high level of debt service payments. Chad's debt-relief discussions under the G20 framework have been led by the Paris Club and Saudi Arabia. A French finance ministry source on Monday said the creditors were close to a deal. The source said discussions were continuing with Zambia, whose finance minister also participated in the G7 meeting with African finance ministers, an event coordinated by current G7 president Germany.

WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Argentina is nearing a deal on more than $2 billion it owes the Paris Club of creditors, economy minister Sergio Massa said on Thursday. "Argentina is close to an agreement with the Paris Club," Massa told Reuters on the sidelines of the IMF meetings in Washington. Massa had previously confirmed that he will meet the group in France on Oct. 27 and 28 to continue negotiations. He met the chair of the Paris Club, Emmanuel Moulin, in Washington on Thursday. The Paris Club, which counts the United States, Japan and Germany among its members, last year gave Argentina more time to repay the debt, allowing Buenos Aires to negotiate a revamp of its IMF program.

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.

☆ IMF chief says Lebanon hasn't implemented prior actions for financing programme
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday said talks with Lebanon remain stuck as the country's officials haven't yet implemented the prior actions needed to receive an IMF financing programme. Prior actions are measures that need to be implemented before the executive board approves an IMF-supported programme, according to its website. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe IMF last month said progress in implementing reforms remained very slow, specifically the implementation of those reforms agreed to with the IMF in April. The staff-level agreement covers a 46-month extended fund facility under which Lebanon has requested access to the equivalent of around $3 billion. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Jorgelina do Rosario; Editing by Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON/JOHANNESBURG, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Angola will keep cutting interest rates as long as inflation is kept low, central bank governor Jose De Lima Massano said on Wednesday, forecasting that inflation will fall to 16% this year and 9-10% by the end of 2023. "Today we have interest rates in Angola above 20%. And if we have room to keep on reducing them, we'll do it," De Lima Massano told Reuters on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington. Unlike most other central banks, Angola has started to lower interest rates, delivering a rate cut in September for the first time since 2019 by 50 basis points to 19.5%. "Our currency has found its equilibrium and we are not anticipating major appreciation or depreciation," De Lima Massano said.

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates expeditiously to address very high, persistent inflation, and will likely get U.S. short-term borrowing costs to where they need to be by early next year, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said Wednesday. Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose to their highest level in about 12-1/2 years on Tuesday as investors girded for higher interest rates that could possibly remain for longer than anticipated as Federal Reserve officials held firm in their hawkish stance. The Federal Reserve has aggressively hiked interest rates by 3 percentage points this year, taking its target range to 3.00%-3.25%. It carried out its third consecutive 75 basis point increase last week and signaled that rates are likely to rise to the 4.25%-4.5% range by the end of the year. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Dhara Ranasinghe, Jorgelina Do Rosario and Ann Saphir; Editing by Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said on Wednesday that volatility in markets can create additional restrictiveness in financial conditions. "It is a case that financial market volatility can add to additional financial restrictiveness. So anything around the world in terms of policy or developments like Russia's invasion of Ukraine can add to additional restrictiveness." "We just really need to get inflation in check," Evans said. Relief on inflation could also come from improvements in supply, he said, and giving him some comfort is the fact that inflation expectations are "relatively consistent" with the Fed's 2% inflation goal.

☆ New Pakistan finance minister vows to tame inflation and cut interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Pakistan's likely new Finance Minister Ishaq Dar walks upon his arrival at the Nur Khan military airbase in Chaklala, Rawalpindi, Pakistan September 26, 2022. "We will control inflation," Dar told reporters in televised comments after he was sworn in. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"We will bring interest rates down," he said. WRECKED ECONOMYDar, a senior politician in the ruling party of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, flew to Islamabad on Monday night after ending five years in self-exile in London. "I wasn't able to travel for the last four years," he added, describing the legal action against him as political victimisation by the previous government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Capital outflows from emerging markets ex-China which only ended in August were akin to those during the 2013 taper tantrum, the IIF said in September. "Emerging market fortunes continue to rest quite heavily on what the Fed does," said Manik Narain, head of emerging markets strategy at UBS. Major emerging market central banks had delivered nearly 6,000 basis points in rate increases in 2022 until end-August in their inflation fight, Reuters calculations show. Developing central banks find themselves in different stages of the tightening cycle, said Claudia Calich, head of emerging market debt at M&G Investments. However, there is little let-up on the cards for smaller, riskier emerging markets.

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.

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