SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Jan 12 – When the
International Monetary Fund
held a press briefing about
China and its Article IV
review, on January 8, Inner
City Press posed a question
and got an answer, below.
Now on January 12
about the Central African
Republic, the IMF says this:
"The Executive Board of the
International Monetary Fund
(IMF) today completed the
first and second reviews of
the Central African Republic’s
(CAR) economic and financial
program supported by an
Extended Credit Facility (ECF)
arrangement. Completion of the
reviews enables the
disbursement of SDR 23.87
million, about US$
34.4million), bringing total
disbursements under the
arrangement to SDR 35.8
million, about US$
51.6million. In
completing the two reviews,
the Executive Board also
approved the authorities’
request for waiver of
non-observance of performance
criteria. CAR’s ECF
arrangement was originally
approved by the Executive
Board on December 20, 2019 for
SDR 83.55 million, about US$
115.1 million, or 75 percent
of the Central African
Republic’s quota in the Fund)
– See Press Release No
19/484. The
IMF-supported program aims to
maintain macroeconomic
stability, strengthen
administrative capacity,
governance and the business
climate, and address the
country’s protracted balance
of payment needs.
Following the Executive Board
discussion on CAR, Mr.
Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy
Managing Director and Acting
Chair, made the following
statement: “The Covid-19
pandemic has had a substantial
impact on C.A.R.’s economy but
appears to be somewhat
contained." Watch this site.
On January 8
Inner City Press asked the
IMF's Helge Berger, Mission
Chief, about China's so-called
Belt and Road Initiative:
"Your Article IV report cites
China's "overseas lending
projects" amid "rising
geopolitical tensions and
economic and trade frictions."
How does the IMF think that
rising debt levels among
African countries, and
increased skepticism about the
"Belt and Road" will impact or
be addressed going forward?
-Matthew Russell Lee, Inner
City Press. Video here.
Berger
responded about
the IMF's work
to provide
lower income
countries
"breathing
space." He
said while the
IMF generally
welcomes the
BRI it stresses the
need for
transparency,
where the
money is
going.
(An aside: Inner
City Press has
reported on
the CEFC China
Energy Fund
Committee's
activities in
Chad and
Uganda and in
the UN, on
which the UN is
UNresponsive.)
Other questions
included
China's digital
currency (Inner
City Press also reports
on
crypto-currency
cases in the
U.S. District
Court for the
Southern
District of
New York and
elsewhere).
Berger said
when used
overseas an
issue is that
residents
could start
using another
country's
currency, if
it is easier.
We'll have more
on this.
***
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