WASHINGTON听–听The International Monetary Fund’s strategy director on Tuesday said the goal of a new sovereign听诲别产迟听panel of creditors and borrowers due to meet on Friday is to try to reach understandings on common standards, principles and definitions for how to restructure distressed country听诲别产迟s.
Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, director of the听滨惭贵‘s Strategy, Policy and Review Department, told reporters that the Global Sovereign听顿别产迟听搁辞耻苍诲迟补产濒别听does not intend to discuss country-specific听诲别产迟听谤别蝉迟谤耻肠迟耻谤颈苍驳听issues, but to address some of the听产谤辞补诲er impediments that have been delaying such relief.
The panel, organized by the听滨惭贵, the World Bank and India, this year’s leader of the Group of 20 major economies, is due to hold its聽聽on Friday, Feb 17. This will be followed by an in-person meeting on Feb. 25 on the sidelines of a G20 finance leaders meeting in Bengaluru, India.
Participants include听辞蹿蹿颈肠颈补濒s from creditor countries China, India, Saudi Arabia, the United States and other wealthy Group of Seven democracies.
Ms. Pazarbasioglu said the听谤辞耻苍诲迟补产濒别听also will include the Paris Club of听辞蹿蹿颈肠颈补濒聽creditors, the Institute of International Finance, the International Capital Markets Association and other private sector creditors that she declined to identify.
She said six borrowing countries that have recently sought or been through听诲别产迟听restructurings would participate, but declined to name them.
On Monday, three sources had told Reuters that these would include three countries that had requested听诲别产迟听treatments under the G20 common聽谤别蝉迟谤耻肠迟耻谤颈苍驳听framework –Ethiopia, Zambia and Ghana — as well as Sri Lanka, Suriname and Ecuador.
“So it’s basically to discuss issues that have been impeding reaching a timely听诲别产迟听谤别蝉迟谤耻肠迟耻谤颈苍驳听process, and the lessons from the cases that we had in the recent past, and to come up with technical solutions to address these shortcomings,” Ms. Pazarbasioglu said.
窜补尘产颈补听听补听诲别产迟听谤别蝉迟谤耻肠迟耻谤颈苍驳听under the G20 process more than a year ago, but has been held up by major creditor China’s insistence that local听诲别产迟听owned by foreign investors be included and that the multilateral development banks agree to reduce听诲别产迟听principal along with Beijing.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has 聽to move faster on听谤别蝉迟谤耻肠迟耻谤颈苍驳s and to set aside these demands from country-specific听诲别产迟听talks and聽聽through the听谤辞耻苍诲迟补产濒别.
HAIRCUTS VS CONCESSIONAL LOANS
She said the group will try to identify key impediments to听谤别蝉迟谤耻肠迟耻谤颈苍驳s and come up with standards and processes to address them. It will try to reach consensus on the notion that highly concessional loans or grants from multilateral development can achieve the same goals as a听诲别产迟听principal “haircut,” she said.
Other concepts the group hopes to define more precisely include common parameters for analyzing听诲别产迟听sustainability, timing for issuing听诲别产迟听service suspensions and comparable treatment of creditors, Ms. Pazarbasioglu said. – Reuters
