IMF's Georgieva says IMF has been vocal about China's need to change economic model
WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Monday said the IMF has been vocal about its policy prescriptions for China to move away from an export-led growth model.
Asked at the Milken Institute Global conference in the Los Angeles area whether the IMF needed to get tougher on China as a result of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's directive for the Fund to get back to its core economic stability mission, Georgieva said the Fund has been "doing exactly that."
"For quite some time, we have been vocal that China has to deal with four problems that affect it domestically and affect it internationally. One, shift from export to more consumption. Two, fix the property sector," she said, adding that Beijing also needed to embrace the services sector for growth and reduce the state's role in the economy.
She acknowledged the Chinese state footprint was unlikely to shrink much in the near term.
During IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings last month, Bessent said that the two institutions needed to get back to their core economic stability and development missions after straying too far into climate, gender and equality issues.
He also called on the IMF to be a "brutal truth teller" and said it should "call out countries like China that have pursued globally distortive policies and opaque currency practices for many decades."
Georgieva said that China would face deflationary pressures from a steep falloff of U.S. demand for its exports because of President Donald Trump's tariffs, while Europe also would see less demand, which could moderate inflation. The U.S., meanwhile would face a supply shock that would add inflationary pressures, she added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
6 minutes ago
- Reuters
Reckitt eyes new options to advance Air Wick unit sale, sources say
LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Britain's Reckitt (RKT.L), opens new tab is considering new options to advance a sale of its Essential Home business, home to Air Wick fresheners and Cillit Bang cleaners, after bids came in below expectations, two people with knowledge of the process said. The company still plans to pursue a sale, the people said, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. Private equity firm Advent remains in talks for the assets, one of the people and a third person said. Reckitt, which also makes Mucinex cold medication and Durex condoms, said in July it was looking to offload a portfolio of homecare brands by the end of 2025. The proposed sale comes at a challenging time for businesses with factories around the world as they navigate U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, which are roiling supply chains, boosting costs and dampening shopper sentiment. Reckitt could keep a stake in the business or structure a sale another way to bridge a gap in valuations, one of the people said, adding that some of the bids came in below its hopes of over 4 billion pounds ($5.4 billion). Reuters could not determine if other bidders remained in the process. Reckitt and Advent declined to comment. Bankers and CEOs have hit the brakes on mergers and acquisitions since Trump launched his trade war, with fewer deals getting signed than during the bleakest days of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. Reckitt said in April that it was "continuing to progress" the sale of the Essential Home business but that market conditions might affect the time frame. Consumer staples companies are considered relatively resilient to economic downturns, but big brands like Reckitt, P&G (PG.N), opens new tab and Unilever (ULVR.L), opens new tab increasingly face competition from cheaper private label brands that gained popularity during the pandemic. Reckitt's Essential Home business has struggled for several quarters, with sales falling 7% in the first quarter of this year to 482 million pounds, about 13% of total revenue for the quarter. Reckitt has been undergoing a turnaround under CEO Kris Licht, who has sought to reassure shareholders concerned about the strength of the company's brands in North America and Europe, where consumer confidence has been dwindling. ($1 = 0.7397 pounds)
Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK 'deeply concerned' about jailed Egyptian-British dissident's hunger-striking mother
LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - The British government said on Tuesday it was "deeply concerned" about the health of the mother of jailed Egyptian-British dissident Alaa Abd el-Fattah, Laila Soueif, who has been admitted to hospital while continuing a hunger strike. Soueif, 69, a mathematics professor from a family of prominent activists and intellectuals, was taken to a London hospital last week and has said she is prepared to die to help secure the release of her son from prison. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government was worried about Soueif's health and continues to urge the Egyptian government to release her son. "We are deeply concerned by Laila's hospitalisation and remain in regular contact with her family regarding her welfare," Starmer's spokesman told reporters. The Egyptian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Abd el-Fattah, a software developer and blogger who rose to prominence as an activist in the 2011 Arab Spring, was jailed for five years in Egypt in 2021 over a social media post, a sentence that followed several previous spells in prison, including before and after the uprising. Starmer's spokesman said the British foreign secretary David Lammy spoke to his Egyptian counterpart on Sunday and urged him to release Abd el-Fattah. "The government is absolutely committed to Alaa Abd el-Fattah's release," he said. "Further engagement at the highest levels of the Egyptian government continues." Abd el-Fattah was sentenced to five years in prison in 2021 on charges of spreading fake news, for sharing a social media post about the death of a prisoner. The accusation is commonly levelled at critics of the government and activists who post on social media.
Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
India's HDB Financial gets market regulator nod for IPO
MUMBAI/BENGALURU, June 3 (Reuters) - India's markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has approved the initial public offering (IPO) of HDB Financial Services, marking the HDFC group's first public float in seven years. According to a document published on the SEBI website on Tuesday, the regulator issued observations on the public listing, allowing the company to proceed with its IPO, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. SEBI and HDFC Bank ( opens new tab did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. In October, HDB Financial filed for an IPO of up to 125 billion rupees ($1.5 billion). HDFC Bank, which holds a 94.3% stake in the lender, will sell shares worth up to 100 billion rupees, while fresh shares worth up to 25 billion rupees will be issued. HDB Financial's listing follows new norms introduced by the country's central bank in 2022 that require large non-banking financial companies to be listed on stock exchanges by September 2025. For the quarter ended March 31, HDB Financial Services posted a profit of 5.3 billion rupees, while its net revenue came in at 26.2 billion rupees. The company's total loan book was 1.07 trillion rupees as of March-end. ($1 = 85.6540 Indian rupees)
