IMF flags debt restructuring hurdles

Banning private cryptocurrencies should be an option: Georgieva

BENGALURU:

Group of 20 (G20) nations have some disagreements over restructuring debt for distressed economies, the chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Saturday, adding that banning private cryptocurrencies should be an option.

India’s G20 presidency comes as its South Asian neighbours Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan are seeking urgent IMF funds due to an economic slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

China, the world’s largest bilateral creditor, urged the group of big economies on Friday to conduct a fair, objective and in-depth analysis of the causes of global debt issues as clamour grows for lenders to take a large haircut, or accept losses, on loans.

“On debt restructuring, while there are still some disagreements, we now have the global sovereign debt roundtable with consideration of all public and private creditors,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters after chairing the roundtable with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“We just finished a session in which it was clear that there is a commitment to bridge differences for the benefit of countries.”

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said there were no “deliverables” from the meeting, which was mostly organisational. Further discussions of the panel, which includes major bilateral creditors including China, India and the G7 countries, several debtor countries, are planned around the time of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in April.

“We certainly had that agreement that this is a useful forum,” Yellen told Reuters in an interview. “We look forward to participating in it.” Apart from restructuring debt, regulating cryptocurrencies is another priority area for India, which Georgieva agreed with.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2023.

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