The International Monetary Fund(IMF) said 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 yesterday that it has borrowed 1.287 billion in special drawing rights — the IMF's own quasi-currency — from Japan ($2 billion), 128.7 million SDR from Canada and 59.4 million SDR from Norway.
Last November, Japan pledged up to $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 $250 billion.
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"We expect to have a broader pool of lenders to draw upon as new agreements are finalized over the next few months," the IMF said, adding, "Additional borrowing will further strengthen the fund's lending capacity."