Page 5 - International Monetary Fund

Finance Minister Sitharaman to host breakfast for G20 counterparts

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will here on Thursday host a breakfast for her counterparts from G-20 countries on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Founded in 1999, G-20 is a grouping of 19 major world economies along with the European Union. India will assume the annual presidency of G-20 countries in December this year. Indonesia is currently heading the G-20 presidency. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen along with finance ministers of other G-20 countries have confirmed to attend the breakfast meeting being hosted by Sitharaman at the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund here. Sitharaman with this meeting intends to set the pace and scope for India's presidency for the next year and also establish a personal relationship with all of her counterparts from the G-20 countries. At a time when the world is facing recession and there is large-scale inflation, the role that G-20 has in steering the global

Budget focus is to maintain growth, tame inflation: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The minister is in Washington DC to the annual meetings of World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as well as the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings

India macro indicators may return to FY20 levels by FY27, says IMF

Although China's debt to GDP ratio is projected to remain at 76.9 in 2022, it is projected to overtake India's ratio in 2024 at 89.8 and continue to increase further to 102.8 in 2027

India's debt ratio projected to be 84% of its GDP by end of 2022: IMF

India's debt ratio is projected to be 84 per cent of its GDP by the end of 2022, which is higher than many emerging economies, but its debt is a little bit easier to sustain, a senior IMF official has said. Stressing that it is important for India to now have a very clear medium-term objective on the fiscal, Paolo Mauro, Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund, said there's still not a whole lot of clarity on the fiscal anchor. "It would be very important to give reassurance to people and to investors that things are under control, and things are going to become less vulnerable over time," Mauro, told PTI in an interview. "In terms of the debt ratio, India right now at the end of 2022, we're projecting it at about 84 per cent of GDP. That is higher than in many emerging economies, he said. Of course, India has a lot of special features being the most populous country in the world by now and being a very large, emerging economy, he said. The other ..

India facing 'cacophony of factors' that may shake sovereign credit metrics

India is facing various factors that may shake its sovereign credit metrics but strong economic growth rate and external balance sheet are expected to neutralize the risks inherent in the global environment, S&P Global Ratings said on Wednesday. In a credit FAQ titled 'Can India Sovereign Ratings Withstand The Global Sputter', S&P said despite India's strong external balance sheet, it has not been able to escape the difficult landscape the rest of its emerging market peers have faced over the course of the year and 'more severe conditions', could apply downward pressure on India's sovereign credit ratings. S&P has the lowest investment grade rating of 'BBB-' on India with a stable outlook. "India is facing a mixture of factors that may shake its sovereign credit metrics. Amid external turbulence, its foreign exchange reserves are falling, and its current account deficit is rising. Meanwhile, the economy is battling faster inflation and tightening financial conditions both .

IMF says China important player; cautions against moving out manufacturing

Observing that China has been a very important player in global supply chains, a top International Monetary Fund (IMF) official on Tuesday said that anything which undermines this process of efficiency and productivity will have its costs. At the end of the day, we have to think in terms of efficiency, gain and losses. China has been a very important player in global supply chains, and for good reasons, Krishna Srinivasan, IMF Director of the Asia and Pacific Department, told PTI in an interview. Srinivasan was responding to a question on the move by companies in the US and Europe to shift their manufacturing base to other countries of the world. Anytime you go for something driven by non-economic considerations, say sourcing goods from a friend-country (friend-shoring) you risk undermining efficiency. So, one has to think of this in a very objective way, Srinivasan said. At the end of the day, what do you want from this? he said. We have seen trade being an engine of growth not j

Ukraine war affected Asian economy; risk of fragmentation worrisome: IMF

The war in Ukraine has affected the Asian economy broadly in terms of trade and financial market uncertainties and inflation, a top IMF official said on Tuesday, warning that going forward the risk of fragmentation was quite serious in the Asia Pacific region. If you look at the (Ukrainian) war itself, there are multiple channels through which it has affected Asia. One, of course, is the falling external demand. Asia doesn't have many strong trade links with Russia. But Asian trade links with Europe are pretty high. To the extent that Europe is affected significantly by the war in Ukraine, it affects external demand for countries in Asia, Krishna Srinivasan, Director Asia and Pacific Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF) told PTI in an interview. The second area is on food and commodity prices, which have increased significantly since the war, he said. They had already gone up during the pandemic but had been intensified in the context of the war. That has implications for .

IMF praises RBI for tightening the monetary policy to curb inflation

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday praised the Reserve bank of India (RBI) for tightening the monetary policy to curb inflation in the country. The RBI has appropriately been tightening to fight inflation as the inflation is above target, and since May, if my memory serves me well, it sort of delivers 190 basis points rate hikes and we think further tightening is needed to bring inflation to its target, Garcia Pascual, Deputy Division Chief of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the IMF, told reporters at a news conference here. Tobias Adrian, Financial Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the IMF, said that monetary policy has tightened in India, similar to other emerging markets as well, where inflation has been above target. And certainly, inflation has been above the RBI's target recently, so we do expect a tightening of monetary policy going forward as well, he said in response to a question. In terms of financial .

IMF cuts India's FY23 GDP forecast to 6.8%, flags global inflation crisis

Slashes it by 60 bps; says worst yet to come for world

Current account imbalance hits India harder than EM peers, shows data

India's current account deficit is projected at 3.5 per cent for 2022, says IMF World Economic Outlook report

Results preview: Order-book booster to stay for capital goods firms

Key monitorables include tender pipeline and emerging supply-chain scenario, say analysts and players

FM Sitharaman on US visit from today; to attend IMF-WB annual meetings

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will arrive here on Tuesday to attend an important meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The finance minister during her visit will also hold a bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Sitharaman upon her arrival will participate in a fireside chat on "India's Economic Prospects and Role in the World Economy" at the prestigious Brookings Institute think-tank and soon after hold a bilateral meeting with Yellen at the Department of Treasury. At an official dinner hosted by India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, nearly 30 senior representatives of the US Administration, World Bank, IMF, and CEOs of the private sector are expected to participate. In addition to her one-on-one meeting with the IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank President David Malpass, the finance minister is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with countries like Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, ..

World could lose $4 trillion in economic output between now and 2026: IMF

The global economic outlook is darkening and the risks of recession are quickly rising as per the International Monetary Fund, which said it will once again lower its growth projections

140 organisations worldwide ask IMF to issue $650 bn to help poor nations

Allocating more IMF reserve assets known as special drawing rights, or SDRs, "would immediately make hundreds of billions of dollars available to nearly all low- and middle-income IMF member countries

IMF should issue new reserves to help countries tackle crises: Civil groups

The International Monetary Fund should issue $650 billion in new emergency reserves to help its member countries grapple with overlapping crises, 140 civil society groups said in a letter

Sri Lanka begins crucial debt restructuring talks with China

Sri Lanka's president said on Thursday his government has started debt restructuring discussions with China, an important step toward finalising an International Monetary Fund rescue of the island nation from its worst economic crisis. President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament on Thursday that the initial talks will continue after China's Communist Party congress meeting that begins on October 16. Wickremesinghe, who recently returned from a trip to Japan, also said the Japanese authorities agreed to mediate the talks with China. China has been supporting us from ancient times and we believe they will do the same in these difficult times, Wickremesinghe said. Sri Lanka is nearly bankrupt and has suspended repaying its USD 51 billion foreign debt, of which it must repay USD 28 billion by 2027. Sri Lanka has reached a preliminary agreement with the IMF for a USD 2.9 billion rescue package over four years. Finalisation of the rescue hinges on assurances from Sri Lanka's creditor

FM to attend World Bank-IMF annual meeting, drive investor outreach

May hold bilateral meetings with counterparts of other nations. There could also be a G-20 meeting on the sidelines, with focus on India's upcoming presidency of the multi-nation grouping

IMF tells UK to 're-evaluate' unfunded tax cuts as global criticism mounts

Prime Minister Liz Truss's decision to cut taxes by the most since the early 1970s and cover them via borrowing at a time of surging inflation has rattled financial markets and drawn concern

Fallen Rajapaksas back Wickremesinghe as Lanka's creditors seek answers

Much has changed since demonstrators drove Gotabaya Rajapaksa from office in July, the climax of months of protests after record-high inflation and depleted currency reserves bankrupted the nation

India's GDP likely to grow 7.2-7.4% in FY23, says CEA Nageswaran

Global slowdown positive for India on balance, says CEA