| Inner City Press Gets IMF
Answer on Laos Proposed Sale to EA
Amid Thai Legal Actions
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
NYC,
Nov 21 –
When the IMF held its press
briefing on November 21, Inner
City Press was able to ask the
spokesperson questions:
on crypto currency, climate
and the incoming US
President's views on crypto,
and on Kenya amid governance /
corruption review, and Kenya
Power. Also a question in
writing on Laos:
On Laos, what is
the IMF's responses to the
view that its recent report
should be welcomed given the
country’s perennial reluctance
to publicly address its
finances and its whopping
spending spree on major
China-funded infrastructure
projects that it could
ill-afford...Thai officials
have accused the CEO and
deputy CEO of EA of fraud and
suspended trading in the
company. As a result, the IMF
“does not assume” the share
sale will go through, leading
to a 2 percent shortfall in
GDP - is that still the case?
Then, this answer
attributable to an IMF
spokesperson:
Despite important efforts made
by the Laotian authorities to
address challenging
macroeconomic conditions and
four consecutive years of
fiscal surpluses, the rise in
the government’s debt-related
financing needs is likely to
pose challenges. The overall
debt burden has been
exacerbated not only because
of the large stock of external
debt, but also the rapid
exchange rate depreciation in
recent years, which has
increased financing needs.
Strong policy measures, and
additional external financing,
are therefore needed to
address these pressures. Such
financing could, in principle,
take many forms, including
asset sales (for example, the
proposed sales to
EA).
Based on the information
provided by the Laotian
authorities for the 2024
Article IV consultation, the
IMF staff team could not make
a firm determination regarding
the prospects for the sale of
EA at the time the 2024
Article IV consultation was
concluded. The IMF staff team
will continue to discuss
financing issues with the
Laotian authorities and update
its assessment accordingly.
***
Your
support means a lot. As little as $5 a month
helps keep us going and grants you access to
exclusive bonus material on our Patreon
page. Click
here to become a patron.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA
Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station,
NY NY 10013
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2024 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com
|
,
