Page 4 - International Monetary Fund

IMF raises India's GDP growth forecast by 30 bps to 6.8% for FY25

Also sees world economy growing faster at 3.2% in 2024

President Biden's push for World Bank funds to compete with China stalls

The World Bank's two major lending arms committed a combined $72.8 billion last year, with total cumulative lending since 1945 at nearly $1.4 trillion

Pak needs up to three years for reforms suggested by IMF: Finance chief

Pakistan rebuilt trust with the IMF through the completion of its nine-month loan where an agreement was reached in March for the final disbursement, he said

Janet Yellen likely to reiterate warnings over China's manufacturing power

With its dominant voice in all of those forums, the US is expected to try to align other countries across Europe, Asia and Latin America to voice concerns over China's output and exports

IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva wins second term ahead of Spring meetings

Georgieva, 70, led IMF's efforts to aid indebted countries through pandemic and has warned about the global economic impact of trade fragmentation caused by worsening US-China relations

India's foreign exchange reserves hit fresh peak of $648.56 billion

In the current calendar year, the reserves have expanded by 23 billion so far. As of 29 December 2023, India's foreign exchange reserves amounted to $623 billion

IMF under pressure to cut billions of dollars in fees for large borrowers

The IMF released a statement last week saying that "a number" of its board members were open to reviewing policies around surcharges, the fees that it charges nations that borrow more

Subramanian's remark on 8% growth projection for India not ours, says IMF

The recent remarks of Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, about India's growth figures does not represent the views of the IMF and were in his role as India's representative at the global body, the IMF has said. "The views conveyed ...by Mr. Subramanian were in his role as India's representative at the IMF," Julie Kozack, IMF spokesperson, told reporters here on Thursday. She was responding to a question on recent remarks by Subramanian, in which he projected a growth rate of 8 per cent for India, which is different from the last growth rate projections by the IMF. Subramanian, at a event in New Delhi on March 28, had said Indian economy could grow at 8 per cent till 2047, if the country redoubles the good policies that it has implemented over the last 10 years and accelerate reforms. "So, the basic idea is that with the kind of growth that India has registered in the last 10 years, if we can redouble the good policies that we have ...

Meeting with IMF scheduled for Apr 14-15: Pak's Finance Minister Aurangzeb

Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday said the government will hold a meeting with the IMF on April 14 and 15 in Washington to discuss the features of the new bailout programme which the cash-strapped country is seeking, according to a media report. The minister for finance and revenue in the Shehbaz Sharif government, while addressing journalists during his visit to the Pakistan Stock Exchange here, reiterated that the government plans to enter a major programme with the International Monetary Fund which will ensure microeconomic stability, Geo News reported. Aurangzeb said the features of the new programme would be discussed during the meeting, while detailed talks would be held in Pakistan, the report said. Prime Minister Shehbaz on March 21 signalled that the new IMF programme was likely to be continued for three years. Shehbaz, while addressing a session of the Special Investment Facilitation Council's apex committee attended by civil-military leadership, sa

12 people killed in 2 separate incidents in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

At least 12 people were killed in two separate incidents in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said on Friday. Eight people of a family, including five women and two children, were killed when a pickup truck they were travelling in skidded off a mountainous road allegedly due to a brake failure in Buner district, police said. The driver purportedly lost control of the vehicle after the brake failed while navigating a sharp turn in the mountainous terrain. A rescue team along with the help of locals retrieved the bodies from the accident site, they said. In the other incident, four miners of a family were killed when a coal mine suddenly collapsed in the tribal Kurram district. A rescue team and local volunteers retrieved the bodies from the mine and shifted them to a nearby hospital. The deceased coal miners belong to the Swat district. The dead include a father and son and two brothers.

Indian economy can grow at 8% till 2047, reforms are key: IMF's Subramanian

Indian economy can grow at 8 per cent till 2047, if the country can redouble the good policies that it has implemented over the last 10 years and accelerate reforms, India's executive director at International Monetary Fund (IMF) Krishnamurthy Venkata Subramanian said on Thursday. Subramanian further said that clearly 8 per cent growth target is ambitious, because India has not grown consistently at 8 per cent before, but it is achievable. "So, the basic idea is that with the kind of growth that India has registered in the last 10 years, if we can redouble the good policies that we have implemented over the last 10 years and accelerate the reforms, then India can grow at 8 per cent from here on till 2047," he said at the Times Now Summit. India's economy grew at better-than-expected 8.4 per cent in the final three months of 2023, logging the fastest pace in the past one-and-a-half years. The growth rate in October-December helped take the estimate for the current fiscal to 7.6 per

Sri Lankan Prez Wickremesinghe instructs Cabinet to prepare for elections

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed his Cabinet to prepare for the presidential election to be held later this year, as the cash-starved nation strives to recover from its worst economic crisis. The next presidential election must be called by the elections commission by September and must be held by mid-November. The parliament election is not due before August of 2025 but President Wickremesinghe has the power to hold it anytime now by dissolving the 225-member Assembly elected in August 2020. Ending speculation, Wickremesinghe during a Cabinet meeting on Monday announced that the presidential election will be held first and instructed it to prepare for the polls, news portal Daily Mirror reported on Tuesday, quoting sources. Citing the Constitution, Wickremesinghe, 74, said the presidential election should take place first, and arrangements will be made accordingly. The election will be the first held after Sri Lanka plunged into a severe economic crisis in

Pak govt accuses Imran Khan's party of trying to sabotage deal with IMF

Shahbaz Gill, Imran Khan's former chief of staff, in his speech, said that the IMF's mandate requires it to promote democracy and good governance

External stability

New challenges can emerge in currency management

Setback to Imran Khan as IMF refuses to interfere in Pak electoral dispute

This comes after incarcerated former PM Imran Khan penned a letter to the IMF, urging the global lender to give the poll results a thorough once-over before cutting any new cheques for Islamabad

Argentina's poverty levels hit 57% of population, 20-year high in January

Poverty levels skyrocketed to 57.4% of Argentina's 46 million people in January, the highest rate in 20 years, according to a study by the Catholic University of Argentina. The findings quickly unleashed accusations between Argentina's former Vice President Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner and the government of President Javier Milei, who came to power announcing a series of shock measures aimed at tackling the country's severe crisis. About 27 million people in Argentina are poor and 15% of those are mired in destitution, meaning they cannot adequately cover their food needs, according to the study released over the weekend. The UCA's social debt observatory is considered an independent and prestigious research space whose reports on poverty cover a larger geographical area than those conducted by Argentina's national statistics agency, INDEC. It also applies a methodology that addresses the problem with a more multidimensional approach and its findings are seldom questioned by ...

Global economy to see soft landing, rate cuts coming, says IMF's Georgieva

She cautioned to expect the unexpected in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and said a prolonged war between Israel and Hamas would impact global economies

Foreign exchange reserves rise to one-month high of $622.47 bn: RBI

The reserves rose by $5.74 billion in the reporting week, the biggest rise in nearly two months. Reserves had risen by $590 million in the prior week

Highlights of the day: On Fb live, Shiv Sena UBT leader's son shot dead

Latest LIVE: From elections in Pakistan to BJP govt's decision to present a white paper on state of economy during UPA 's ten year rule, catch all the latest updates from around the world here

IMF warns Maldives faces high risk of external and overall debt distress

IMF report advised Maldives to enhance financial sector oversight & crisis management, improve the business climate, strengthen governance, and enhance skill development