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☆ India's push to regulate crypto gains IMF, U.S. support at G20
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationBENGALURU, Feb 25 (Reuters) - A push by Group of 20 (G20) president India to regulate cryptocurrencies gained support from both the International Monetary Fund and the United States on Saturday as finance chiefs of the bloc wrap up two-days of talks. "We haven't suggested outright banning of crypto activities, but it is critical to put in place a strong regulatory framework," Yellen said. Earlier, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters after co-chairing a meeting with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that banning crypto should be an option. The Reserve Bank of India has said that cryptocurrencies should be banned as they are akin to a Ponzi scheme. On Thursday, the IMF laid out a nine-point action plan for how countries should treat crypto assets, with point number one a plea not to give cryptocurrencies legal tender status.

☆ Most G20 nations condemn Russia for war, China stays silent
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Delegates arrive at the venue in Bengaluru where a meeting under India's G20 Presidency has begun on Feb. 22, 2023. Finance chiefs of the world's largest economies strongly condemned Moscow for its war on Ukraine on Saturday, with only China and Russia itself declining to sign a joint statement. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen earlier told Reuters that it was "absolutely necessary" for any statement to condemn Russia. Two delegates told Reuters that Russia and China did not want the G20 platform to be used to discuss political matters. Besides the G7 nations, the G20 bloc also includes countries such as Australia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.

☆ Indian PM Modi urges G20 to focus on unsustainable debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The financial viability of many countries is being threatened by unsustainable debt, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, as he called for the Group of 20 (G20) to focus on the world's most vulnerable citizens. Even the financial viability of many countries is threatened by unsustainable debt levels," Modi said. Many societies are suffering due to rising prices," Modi said in his address to delegates. Reuters reported last week that India is drafting a proposal for G20 countries to help debtor nations by asking lenders, including China, the world's largest sovereign creditor, to take a large haircut, or accept losses, on loans. Reporting by Swati Bhat and Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto Ganguly, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ G7 raises Ukraine support to $39 bln for 2023, urges IMF programme by March
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-Flags are pictured during the first working session of G-7 foreign ministers in Muenster, Germany, November 3, 2022. Ukraine is hoping to clinch a $15 billion programme with the International Monetary Fund that will cover immediate financial assistance and support for structural reforms to underpin efforts at post-conflict rebuilding. "For 2023, based on the Government of Ukraine's needs, we have increased our commitment of budget and economic support to $39 billion," the statement said. The bloc's financial leaders have gathered in India's Bengaluru ahead of a meeting of financial chiefs of the Group of 20 (G20) nations. Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki also told reporters that the G7 needs to assess the effectiveness of current sanctions on Russia before deciding on further action.

Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from G20 nations will join the meeting on Friday. The meeting in the Nandi Hills summer retreat is the first major event of India's G20 presidency and the war in Ukraine is likely to feature prominently during the proceedings. The G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs are also expected to discuss unblocking debt restructuring for distressed economies that have been badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and German Finance Minister Christian Lindner will be attending the meetings and are expected to press China to "quickly deliver" on debt relief for low and middle income countries. However, neither the Russian finance minister nor the central bank chief were expected to attend the meeting and they will be represented by their deputies.

☆ Developing countries' debt troubles in focus at G20 talks, says Germany's Lindner
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China is by far the largest creditor for many highly indebted countries in Africa and Asia, and has been repeatedly pressed to make concessions. G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs will meet from Feb. 22 to Feb. 25 to discuss growing debt troubles among developing countries triggered by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Highly indebted developing countries must retain access to international financial markets so that they can continue to import energy and food, Lindner said. India has drafted a proposal for G20 countries to help debtor nations by asking big lenders including China to take a large haircut on loans. Just days before the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lindner praised the unity among Western nations in supporting Ukraine, both financially and militarily.

☆ G20 watchdog homes in on decentralised finance after FTX crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

FSB member countries will now "proactively" analyse vulnerabilities from DeFi as part of regular monitoring of crypto markets, the report said. The collapse of FTX last November exposed vulnerabilities in intermediaries and DeFi, the report said. FSB DeFi Graphic 1SUPERVISION GAPSThe most worrying vulnerability in DeFi relates to "mismatches" in liquidity from different maturities in liabilities and assets, the report said. Until the sharp retreat in bitcoin prices and the FTX crash, regulators had largely focused on cryptoassets rather than related technology. FSB DeFi Graphic 2Reporting by Huw Jones Editing by Helen PopperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: World Bank may loosen loan ratio to free up $4 billion a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The World Bank, under pressure to do more to help developing countries cope with climate change, may change its internal lending guidelines to free up $4 billion in lending capacity each year, World Bank President David Malpass told Reuters on Thursday. Lowering the equity-to-lending ratio would free up more resources at a time of mounting global challenges such as the Ukraine war, he said. The board was expected to decide on the issue by the April meetings of the bank and the International Monetary Fund. Malpass announced his resignation from the bank on Wednesday amid mounting pressure from the U.S. Treasury to move faster on reforming the bank. The World Bank had long argued against changing its capital adequacy rules, worried that doing so would undermine its AAA credit ratings, but two of the three main agencies last year said some changes were possible without tarnishing the ratings.

☆ G20 exploring cryptocurrency regulation, India's finance minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Nikunj Ohri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 11 (Reuters) - The Group of 20 (G20) big economies is exploring whether the group could collectively regulate cryptocurrencies, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday. Given the sophisticated technologies involved with these virtual assets, countries must discuss whether a given regulation is needed, said Sitharaman, whose country is this year's G20 president. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has for several years debated drafting a law to regulate or even ban cryptocurrencies but has not made a final decision. India will host G20 finance ministers and central bank governors this month. The Reserve Bank of India has said that cryptocurrencies should be banned as they are akin to a Ponzi scheme.

☆ Central bank test lab to trial 'stablecoin' monitoring system
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A global central bank test lab run out of London is designing a 'stablecoin' monitoring system aimed at giving authorities a clearer picture on how they work and how to regulate them in future. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency which aim to maintain a 1:1 peg with a fiat currency such as the dollar. The collapse last year of a widely-used stablecoin pair, Luna and TerraUSD, sparked widespread turmoil in crypto markets. In a bid to ensure there is more oversight going forward, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), often dubbed the central bank for the world's central banks, is to begin work in its London 'innovation hub' on a tool to keep tabs on them. "Most central banks lack tools to systemically monitor stablecoins and avoid asset-liability mismatches," the BIS said.

JAKARTA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Indonesia plans to send a top general to Myanmar to talk to its junta leaders in the hope of showing Myanmar's military rulers how Indonesia made a successful transition to democracy, President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday. We have the experience, here in Indonesia, the situation was the same," the president, who is widely known as Jokowi, told Reuters in an interview in his offices in Jakarta. The military took over in Myanmar in 1962, isolating the country and suppressing dissent for decades until a tentative opening up began in 2011. Other members have appeared increasingly frustrated with the Myanmar military and are keen to maintain a ban on its top officials taking part in ASEAN forums. Managing rifts over Myanmar, and escalating tension in the disputed South China Sea, will be among the main challenges for Indonesia in its role as ASEAN chair.

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskiy seeks India PM Modi's help with 'peace formula'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday said he sought India's help with implementing a "peace formula" in a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I had a phone call with PM Narendra Modi and wished a successful G20 presidency," Zelenskiy wrote on Twitter. "It was on this platform that I announced the peace formula and now I count on India's participation in its implementation." loadingZelenskiy asked the Group of 20 (G20) major economies last month to adopt Ukraine's 10-point peace formula and to end the war. India holds the G20 presidency for a year.

☆ G20 wants to build policy consensus on crypto assets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The Group of 20 (G20) countries are striving to build a policy consensus on crypto assets to inform better global regulation, India's federal economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth said on Wednesday. India, which currently holds the G20 presidency, is hosting the group's first meeting of finance and central bank deputies on Dec. 13-15 in Bengaluru. The implications of crypto assets for the economy, monetary policy and the banking sector should be studied to inform this consensus, Seth said at a news conference on the second day of the forum. In fact, one of the priorities which have been put on the table is to help countries build a consensus for policy approach to the crypto assets," he said. India, the world's third largest economy and second-most populous nation, assumed the G20 presidency for the first time earlier this month, taking over from Indonesia.

JAKARTA, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Indonesia's new criminal code ushers in a raft of new laws, including banning sex outside of marriage, insulting the president, and expressing any view that runs counter to state ideology. Indonesia is also trying to entice foreign visitors back after the pandemic and the national tourism board described the new code as "totally counter-productive". We have already expressed our concern to the ministry of tourism about how harmful this law is," said Maulana Yusran, deputy chief of Indonesia's tourism industry board. Indonesia has been discussing revising its criminal code since declaring independence from the Dutch in 1945. Defending the passage of the bill against criticism, Indonesia's Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly told parliament on Tuesday: "It's not easy for a multicultural and multi-ethnic country to make a criminal code that can accommodate all interests."

☆ Explainer: India G20 presidency 2023: what does it mean and what can we expect
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Devjyot Ghoshal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

During and after the 2008 global financial crisis, the G20's coordinated efforts helped tamp down panic and restore economic growth. WHAT DOES G20 PRESIDENCY ENTAIL? After India, Brazil will take over the presidency of the G20, followed by South Africa in 2025. WHAT DOES THE G20 MEAN FOR INDIA AND MODI? "The country has not invested much in multilateral rule-making institutions like the G20, but it is never too late to start."

☆ Modi urges unity on 'greatest challenges' as India assumes G20 presidency
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The world must cooperate to tackle the greatest challenges of climate change, terrorism, and pandemics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday as India began its year-long presidency of the Group of 20 (G20). "Today, we do not need to fight for our survival - our era need not be one of war. Indeed, it must not be one," Modi said in a declaration published in Indian newspapers to mark the start of the G20 presidency. "Today, the greatest challenges we face - climate change, terrorism, and pandemics - can be solved not by fighting each other, but only by acting together." "As in our own families, those whose needs are the greatest must always be our first concern," Modi said.

☆ Hunger-struck Africa needs liquidity, debt relief
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Joe Bavier | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"It's not just been these macroeconomic fallouts, but also, heart-wrenchingly, the food insecurity issue," said Abebe Aemro Selassie, director of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Africa Department. "Food insecurity has shot up like never before." The number of East Africans facing acute food insecurity has jumped by 60% to 82 million in the past year. But Razia Khan, Middle East and Africa Chief Economist at Standard Chartered Bank, questioned whether simply providing more liquidity would be enough. Easing their debt burdens would allow governments to focus on pressing problems including food insecurity.

☆ APEC pledges to boost trade as geopolitical rifts hijack regional summits
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Apec 2022 summit will take place at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok from November 18-19,2022. At the G20 meeting in Indonesia, members unanimously adopted a declaration that said most members condemned the Ukraine war but also acknowledged some countries saw the conflict differently. The APEC leaders echoed the G20 declaration as they referred to U.N. resolutions that deplore Russia's aggression and demand its complete and unconditional withdrawal from Ukraine, but also noted a variety of opinions. Recognising that APEC is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy," the bloc said. Russia is a member of both G20 and APEC but President Vladimir Putin has stayed away from the summits.

Separately, police fired rubber bullets to disperse anti-government protesters in Bangkok as the host of the Asia-Paciﬁc Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, opened the conference. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called an emergency gathering of leaders from Australia, Japan, South Korea, Canada and New Zealand on the sidelines of the summit after North Korea carried out the missile test. "This conduct by North Korea most recently is a brazen violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions," she said. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is in Bangkok for the APEC meeting, told reporters North Korea had "repeated its provocations with unprecedented frequency". First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov is representing him at APEC.

It was a rare, candid glimpse of the Chinese leader and a reminder of Beijing's testy relations with the West. Besides Biden, Trudeau and Australia's Anthony Albanese, Xi also met the leaders of South Korea, Italy, Argentina, Holland and France for bilateral talks in Bali. Xi was ferried around Bali in his own Hongqi (Red Flag) limousine - Mao Zedong used an earlier model - China's version of the U.S. presidential "Beast" limo. Returning to in-person diplomacy also gives Xi a platform to push Chinese initiatives that further cement its stature as leader of the emerging world. "I think in the coming years you'll see China indeed making a serious effort to implement its major power diplomacy," he said.

SEOUL, Nov 17 (Reuters) - South Korean and Saudi Arabian leaders pledged stronger ties on Thursday in the fields of energy, defence industry and building projects, as the oil-rich kingdom signed investment agreements worth $30 billion with South Korean companies. "In particular, he said he would like to drastically strengthen cooperation with South Korea in the areas of defence industry, infrastructure and construction," Yoon's office said. Saudi-based Asharq TV quoted the kingdom's investment minister as saying deals signed on Thursday were worth $30 billion. "The (South Korean) government will actively support the successful implementation of cooperative projects which apply Korea's state-of-the-art architecture ... in NEOM," said South Korea's trade minister, Lee Chang-yang. Shares in Lotte Fine Chemical (004000.KS), which signed an agreement for chemical industry cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Investment, rose 2.1%.

☆ Geopolitics to stay in focus at APEC summit in Thailand
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Delegates walk inside the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center where the APEC summit will be held, in Bangkok, Thailand, November 14, 2022. On the sidelines, Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to have bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida later in the day. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are among those also attending the main meeting. Host Indonesia said the Ukraine war had been the most contentious issue at the summit in Bali. He was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the G20 and First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov will stand in for him at APEC.

☆ WTO warns of 'real' recession risk in some major economies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Leika Kihara | Hadeel Al Sayegh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"It may not happen everywhere, but several key countries risk sliding into recession," WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' meeting in Bali, Indonesia. "Of course, the impact of that can be quite significant for emerging markets and poor countries, which need external demand from the developed countries to recover." The Geneva-based trade body last month projected global trade to rise just 1.0% in 2023, down sharply from an estimated 3.5% rise for this year. Okonjo-Iweala said she has called on G20 leaders to phase out food export restrictions, which have been on the rise and hurt poor countries by pushing up food prices. In a meeting in September, trade ministers of the G7 advanced economies agreed to work towards having a functioning WTO dispute settlement system by 2024.

☆ Germany's Scholz: Poland missile blast must be fully investigated
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 16 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday a missile blast in eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border, in which two people were killed, should be fully investigated before conclusions are drawn. In his closing statement following the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali, Scholz said it was a positive sign that the United States had offered to assist Poland with the probe. Ukraine has blamed the blast on Russia, while U.S. President Joe Biden said the missile was probably not fired from Russia. Wrangling over the Ukraine war dominated the world leaders two-day meeting on the Indonesian island, as Western countries pushed for a condemnation while Russia decried the summit's "politicization". The final declaration said "most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine", while acknowledging "other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions".

Leaders from the Group of Seven nations as well as Spain and the Netherlands, who are all on the Indonesian island of Bali for the G20 summit, held an emergency meeting in response to the missile strike in Poland. The G20 leaders' meeting on Wednesday will be important to raise their awareness of the war in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Tuesday after reports of the blasts in Poland. G20 leaders were due to visit a site in Bali to plant mangroves on Wednesday morning, although the schedule of the meeting hosted by Indonesia has not always run to plan. As at other recent international forums, the United States and its allies were seeking a statement from the G20 summit against Moscow's military actions. A 16-page draft declaration seen by Reuters, which diplomats said was yet to be adopted by leaders, acknowledged the rift over the Ukraine war.

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