Latest news with #GlobalSovereignDebtRoundtable
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
IMF warns 2030 sustainable development goals at risk as funding gaps widen
New Delhi: The International Monetary Fund has warned that the world is increasingly unlikely to meet the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030 as financing needs far exceed what many countries can realistically manage—raising the risk of broader macroeconomic imbalances. The warning came after the IMF executive board reviewed a staff paper evaluating the fund's role in supporting international development financing. The review precedes the Fourth Financing for Development Conference (FfD4), scheduled to be held in Sevilla, Spain, from 30 June 30 to 3 July. The IMF paper flags a deteriorating development outlook, reassesses the feasibility of the SDGs, and outlines measures to accelerate progress amid mounting financial and economic pressures. 'A series of shocks since 2020 has compounded longstanding structural challenges, hitting low-income and fragile states the hardest,' the IMF said in a statement on Friday. 'Debt vulnerabilities deserve attention, particularly for low-income countries,' it added. While debt remains broadly sustainable, the IMF noted that many countries face steep interest costs and rising refinancing needs, constraining their ability to invest in critical development spending. 'Against this background, achieving the sustainable development goals by 2030 appears increasingly unlikely,' it said. Adopted in 2015, the SDGs comprise 17 goals and 169 targets designed to eliminate poverty, tackle climate change, reduce inequality, and promote prosperity. But with the deadline fast approaching, global progress is faltering amid growing financing gaps, economic headwinds and geopolitical uncertainty. 'Accelerating development progress will require a major collective effort,' the IMF said, 'including strong domestic reforms, adequate international support, and proactive debt management.' It also called for tailored approaches, warning that rising divergence among developing countries demands more nuanced reform agendas and support frameworks. Meanwhile, IMF directors have stressed the need for a 'major collective effort' combining ambitious domestic reforms with robust international support. This includes advancing sound macroeconomic policies, improving public spending efficiency, strengthening governance, mobilising domestic resources, and boosting private-sector-led growth and job creation. International backing—through well-coordinated capacity development and additional public and private finance—will be critical, the IMF said. The IMF directors have also endorsed efforts to improve debt restructuring mechanisms for countries with unsustainable debt, including deeper relief under the Common Framework and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable's new 'restructuring playbook'. They also supported a 'three-pillar approach' to help countries where debt is sustainable but constrains productive spending, the IMF added. The IMF's role, though not developmental by design, remains vital in preserving macroeconomic and financial stability—a prerequisite for sustainable development, it said.
Business Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Global roundtable sees rising debt risks for low-income countries as uncertainty mounts
[WASHINGTON] More work is needed to improve the sovereign debt restructuring process and help countries facing mounting debt service challenges, the chairs of a global debt roundtable said on Wednesday (Apr 23), as they released a new playbook to aid those efforts. The Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, formally launched in late 2022 to help accelerate progress on securing debt treatment for countries in default, met on Wednesday during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Co-chaired by the IMF, the World Bank and South Africa, the current chair of the Group of 20 major economies, it includes creditors, borrowing countries, private sector executives, debt experts, and financial and legal advisers. Co-chairs on Wednesday cited some progress on aspects for the debt restructuring process, including the clarification that debtor countries undergoing a restructuring but not in arrears to official bilateral creditors can request a suspension of their debt service payments. Debtor countries had pressed for assurance that such debt relief could be made available. Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, the IMF's strategy chief, said debt stability risks in emerging markets and developing economies were broadly contained, but the uncertainty around that baseline had increased 'very substantially' given rising trade tensions. 'There are lots of headwinds, a lot of policy uncertainty,' she told reporters, citing challenges for countries with high exports and exposure to US tariffs, declining commodity prices, tightening financial conditions and declining growth. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Pazarbasioglu said there was an urgent need to address the high debt service burden facing many countries, a situation that she said was getting more acute in the current environment. The IMF on Wednesday announced that economic pressures from steep new US tariffs will push global public debt above pandemic-era levels to nearly 100 per cent of global GDP by the end of the decade as slower growth and trade strain government budgets. The IMF's latest Fiscal Monitor projected that global public debt will grow 2.8 percentage points to 95.1 per cent of global GDP in 2025, reaching 99.6 per cent of global GDP by 2030. More work needed to restructure debt Public debt levels in low-income countries and emerging markets were already high before the Covid-19 pandemic and then rose, but they have stabilised since and look set to decline slightly or remain stable over the medium term. A few countries remained particularly vulnerable and many countries face elevated debt service challenges, with high-interest costs and refinancing needs crowding out spending on education, health and infrastructure investment. Citing ongoing challenges, the co-chairs called for further work to improve restructuring processes, including the G20 Common Framework; efforts to help countries whose debt is sustainable but are faced with elevated debt service challenges; and work to prevent a future unsustainable build-up of debt. This would require 'advancing robust progress on debt transparency, debt management, and debtor/investor relations', the co-chairs wrote in their progress report. They said the new playbook released on Wednesday was a 'user-friendly document' that summarised the key steps, concepts and processes observed in recent sovereign debt restructurings. Pazarbasioglu said the playbook was intended to be 'a living document' that could be updated continually. It sets out a path that would see restructurings completed in a period of one year. The playbook is non-binding, and recognises that each case may have its own specificities and complexities, she added. Discussions among the global debt roundtable underlined the need for enhanced transparency and information sharing regarding restructuring agreements reached by official creditor committees. Participants also discussed the bottlenecks that can delay post-restructuring credit rating upgrades. Pazarbasioglu said the roundtable had made some progress on the issue of non-bonded commercial debt and would continue looking at that closely, along with efforts to accelerate timelines, improve transparency and data-sharing. REUTERS
CNA
23-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
Global roundtable sees rising debt risks for low-income countries as uncertainty mounts
WASHINGTON :More work is needed to improve the sovereign debt restructuring process and help countries facing mounting debt service challenges, the chairs of a global debt roundtable said on Wednesday, as they released a new playbook to aid those efforts. The Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, formally launched in late 2022 to help accelerate progress on securing debt treatment for countries in default, met Wednesday during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Co-chaired by the IMF, the World Bank and South Africa, current chair of the Group of 20 major economies, it includes creditors, borrowing countries, private sector executives, debt experts, and financial and legal advisers. Co-chairs on Wednesday cited some progress on aspects for the debt restructuring process, including the clarification that debtor countries undergoing a restructuring but not in arrears to official bilateral creditors can request a suspension of their debt service payments. Debtor countries had pressed for assurance that such debt relief could be made available. The IMF on Wednesday announced that economic pressures from steep new U.S. tariffs will push global public debt above pandemic-era levels to nearly 100 per cent of global GDP by the end of the decade as slower growth and trade strain government budgets. The IMF's latest Fiscal Monitor projected that global public debt will grow 2.8 per centage points to 95.1 per cent of global GDP in 2025, reaching 99.6 per cent of global GDP by 2030. Public debt levels in low-income countries and emerging markets were already high before the COVID-19 pandemic and then rose, but have they stabilized since and look set to decline slightly or remain stable over the medium term. A few countries remained particularly vulnerable and many countries face elevated debt service challenges, with high interest costs and refinancing needs crowding out spending on education, health and infrastructure investment. Citing ongoing challenges, the co-chairs called for further work to improve restructuring processes, including the G20 Common Framework; efforts to help countries whose debt is sustainable but are faced with elevated debt service challenges; and work to prevent a future unsustainable build-up of debt. This would require "advancing robust progress on debt transparency, debt management, and debtor/investor relations," the co-chairs wrote in their progress report. They said the new playbook released Wednesday was a "user-friendly document" that summarized the key steps, concepts and processes observed in recent sovereign debt restructurings. It is a non-binding document that recognizes that each case may have its own specificities and complexities. Discussions among the global debt roundtable underlined the need for enhanced transparency and information sharing regarding restructuring agreements reached by official creditor committees. Participants also discussed the bottlenecks that can delay post-restructuring credit rating upgrades.
Arab News
23-04-2025
- Business
- Arab News
IMF must be more active on debt restructurings, Georgieva says
WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund must be more active in debt restructuring processes, the global lender's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said on Tuesday, noting the growing challenges facing vulnerable low- and middle-income countries. Georgieva told an event hosted by the Bretton Woods Committee booster group that African countries and others, in a 1-1/2-hour meeting, said they wanted the IMF to provide more technical assistance to countries grappling with high debt levels. She said the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, which includes creditor and borrowing countries as well as the IMF and the World Bank, had separately approved a new playbook to help countries navigate the complex process of restructuring heavy debt burdens. The roundtable will release the document after a closed-door meeting in Washington on Wednesday during the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. A joint statement released by Georgieva and Hervé Ndoba, chair of the African Caucus and Central African Republic's minister of finance and budget, said Africa faces the risk of further shocks that could undo strong policy actions taken to bring down inflation, stabilize public debt and reduce external imbalances. 'While growth in Africa is showing some resilience in the face of multiple shocks, the sudden shift in the global outlook has interrupted the growth momentum,' the two leaders said, noting that growth on the African continent had been revised down by 0.3 percentage point to 3.9 percent for 2025. African leaders and the IMF agreed on the need to ensure macroeconomic and financial stability while working to meet the continent's economic development goals. They said domestic reform efforts should promote fiscal sustainability by boosting revenue and improving spending efficiency. 'Now, more than ever, the Fund is committed to working with its member countries to help navigate the complex global economic environment,' the joint statement said, noting that addition of a 25th chair on the Executive Board for sub-Saharan Africa strengthened the region's voice in the fund. The statement also pledged that the IMF would 'remain agile' in responding to emerging challenges, and providing support to initiatives like the G20 Common Framework and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable. It welcomed IMF steps to review both its debt sustainability framework for low-income countries and the design and conditionality of lending programs with an eye to addressing macroeconomic imbalances and promoting growth. The African Consultative Group includes governors from 12 African countries belonging to the African Caucus and IMF management.
Business Recorder
23-04-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
IMF must be more active on debt restructurings, Georgieva says
WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund must be more active in debt restructuring processes, the global lender's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said on Tuesday, noting the growing challenges facing vulnerable low- and middle-income countries. Georgieva told an event hosted by the Bretton Woods Committee booster group that African countries and others, in a 1-1/2-hour meeting, said they wanted the IMF to provide more technical assistance to countries grappling with high debt levels. She said the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, which includes creditor and borrowing countries as well as the IMF and the World Bank, had separately approved a new playbook to help countries navigate the complex process of restructuring heavy debt burdens. The roundtable will release the document after a closed-door meeting in Washington on Wednesday during the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. A joint statement released by Georgieva and Hervé Ndoba, chair of the African Caucus and Central African Republic's minister of finance and budget, said Africa faces the risk of further shocks that could undo strong policy actions taken to bring down inflation, stabilize public debt and reduce external imbalances. 'While growth in Africa is showing some resilience in the face of multiple shocks, the sudden shift in the global outlook has interrupted the growth momentum,' the two leaders said, noting that growth on the African continent had been revised down by 0.3 percentage point to 3.9% for 2025. Pakistan reiterates pledge to IMF on economic reforms African leaders and the IMF agreed on the need to ensure macroeconomic and financial stability while working to meet the continent's economic development goals. They said domestic reform efforts should promote fiscal sustainability by boosting revenue and improving spending efficiency. 'Now, more than ever, the Fund is committed to working with its member countries to help navigate the complex global economic environment,' the joint statement said, noting that addition of a 25th chair on the Executive Board for sub-Saharan Africa strengthened the region's voice in the fund. The statement also pledged that the IMF would 'remain agile' in responding to emerging challenges, and providing support to initiatives like the G20 Common Framework and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable. It welcomed IMF steps to review both its debt sustainability framework for low-income countries and the design and conditionality of lending programs with an eye to addressing macroeconomic imbalances and promoting growth. The African Consultative Group includes governors from 12 African countries belonging to the African Caucus and IMF management.
