Washington: The International Monetary
Fund said that it has started drawing on loans offered by Japan,
Canada and Norway as an increased number of countries have
suddenly turned to the Washington-based lender for aid amid
the global financial crisis.
The IMF said on Tuesday that it has borrowed 1.287 billion
in special drawing rights -- the IMF's own quasi-currency --
from Japan (USD 2 billion), 128.7 million SDR from Canada and
59.4 million SDR from Norway.
Last November, Japan pledged up to USD 100 billion to the
IMF's war chest to allow the agency to continue lending to
countries hit by the crisis that erupted earlier.
"The fund greatly appreciates the cooperative spirit
that Japan, Canada and Norway have shown in ensuring that the
fund has adequate resources to be able to provide effective
balance of payments assistance during the current global
economic and financial crisis," it said in a statement.
Other countries have also pledged to provide additional
money to the IMF as it works to increase its lending capacity
by an additional USD 250 billion.
"
We expect to have a broader pool of lenders to draw
upon as new agreements are finalised over the next few
months," the IMF said, adding, "Additional borrowing will
further strengthen the fund's lending capacity."
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 12:18