ECONOMY
IMF grants debt relief for 25 nations
April 14, 2020 - In addition to emergency funds already agreed, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved debt relief to 25 of the world’s poorest countries to allow them to focus financial resources on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
An estimated $215m in debt relief has been granted to 25 of the world’s poorest countries by cancelling repayments owed to the IMF for the next six months, with extensions possible up to two years.
The announcement comes ahead of a much larger debt suspension plan covering an estimated $18bn in repayments of official bilateral debt which the G20 group of the world’s richest advanced and developing countries is expected to announce at the IMF and World Bank spring meetings later this week.
The IMF and World Bank have access to $260bn in emergency funding. So far the IMF has approved loans totalling $3.4bn to 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and eastern Europe to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak.
The World Bank has approved an initial $1.9 billion in emergency funds for coronavirus response operations in 25 developing countries, with more than half the aid earmarked to help fight the fast-spreading disease in India.
More than 1.8 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus globally and more than 115,000 have died.
- IMF to provide debt relief to help 25 countries deal with pandemic (Reuters)
- FACTBOX-IMF, World Bank aid aimed at helping countries battle pandemic (Reuters)
- IMF writes off an estimated $214m of debt for poorest countries (FT)
- World Bank Group Launches First Operations for COVID-19 (World Bank)
- IMF Executive Board Approves Immediate Debt Relief for 25 Countries (IMF)