IMF to lower member borrowing costs by $1.2 billion annually

IMF to lower member borrowing costs by $1.2 billion annually
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters building is seen ahead of the IMF/World Bank spring meetings in Washington, US on April 8, 2019. (REUTERS/File)
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Updated 12 October 2024
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IMF to lower member borrowing costs by $1.2 billion annually

IMF to lower member borrowing costs by $1.2 billion annually
  • This year, the IMF decided to review policy on charges, surcharges for the first time since 2016
  • The decision came after higher interest rates internationally pushed the borrowing costs higher

NEW YORK: The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved measures that will reduce its members’ borrowing costs by about $1.2 billion annually, the fund’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said.
“The approved measures will lower IMF borrowing costs for members by 36 percent, or about $1.2 billion annually,” Georgieva said in a statement. “The expected number of countries subject to surcharges in fiscal year 2026 will fall from 20 to 13.”
This year, the IMF decided to review its policy on charges and surcharges for the first time since 2016, as higher interest rates globally have pushed borrowing costs higher.
The fund charges regular interest, plus surcharges for loans above a certain threshold or duration, and commitment fees for precautionary arrangements.
The IMF said the charge above the fund’s interest rate will be lowered, while the amount and duration thresholds will rise, as will the threshold for commitment fees.
“While substantially lowered, charges and surcharges remain an essential part of the IMF’s cooperative lending and risk management framework, where all members contribute and all can benefit from support when needed,” Georgieva said.
The changes will take effect on Nov. 1.
The five countries paying the highest surcharges are Ukraine, Egypt, Argentina, Ecuador and Pakistan according to research from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center.
Argentina, currently the IMF’s largest debtor, will save over $3 billion with the changes, according to Finance Secretary Pablo Quirno.
Friday’s announcement falls short of calls by academics, non-profit groups and other economists, who have argued for a full cancelation of IMF surcharges, which they say place extra burdens on borrowing countries at a time when they are in dire economic circumstances and counteract the impact of IMF lending.


Russian drone attack damages homes and railway depot in Ukraine

Russian drone attack damages homes and railway depot in Ukraine
Updated 24 sec ago
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Russian drone attack damages homes and railway depot in Ukraine

Russian drone attack damages homes and railway depot in Ukraine
  • Ukraine’s state railways Ukrzaliznytsia said Russia attacked a depot in Dnipropetrovsk region
  • Russia has pummeled Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with missiles and drones over the past year
KYIV: Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday that it shot down 37 out of 65 Russian drones overnight in an attack that damaged businesses, a railway depot and homes around the nation.
Ukraine’s state railways Ukrzaliznytsia said Russia attacked a depot in Dnipropetrovsk region, causing significant damage to infrastructure and premises.
The attack also caused fires at three private enterprises in the central Cherkasy region, its governor Ihor Taburets said via Telegram.
In the northeastern region of Sumy, it damaged eight residential buildings and one apartment building, regional authorities said.
Of the 65 drones, 28 more did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare, Ukraine’s military said.
Ukrenergo, the country’s national grid operator, reported emergency power cuts in eight regions on Tuesday, citing damages from the missile and drone attacks.
It did not specify when the attacks took place.
The announcement followed emergency power cuts in nine Ukrainian regions on Monday.
Russia has pummeled Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with missiles and drones over the past year. The assaults have triggered deep power cuts, damaging the distribution system and knocking out about half of Ukraine’s generating capacity.
Russia denies targeting civilians but thousands have been killed and injured in its invasion of Ukraine.

Danish PM visits UK counterpart amid Greenland tensions

Danish PM visits UK counterpart amid Greenland tensions
Updated 23 min 52 sec ago
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Danish PM visits UK counterpart amid Greenland tensions

Danish PM visits UK counterpart amid Greenland tensions
  • Trump has repeatedly signalled that he wants the Arctic island
  • The meeting in London will focus on security in Europe

COPENHAGEN: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was due on Tuesday to meet UK counterpart Keir Starmer, as she seeks European support to counter US President Donald Trump’s remarks about taking over Greenland.
The meeting in London will focus on “security in Europe,” according to Frederiksen’s office.
While the statement did not specifically mention Greenland — which is an autonomous Danish territory — or the United States, Frederiksen was quoted saying: “We need a stronger Europe that contributes more to NATO and stands more on its own.”
“At the same time, we must do our part to maintain the transatlantic partnership that has been the foundation for peace and prosperity since World War II,” Frederiksen added.
Trump has repeatedly signalled that he wants the Arctic island — which is strategically important and is believed to hold large untapped mineral and oil reserves — to become part of the United States.
In an interview with broadcaster Fox News over the weekend, US Vice President J.D. Vance said Greenland was “really important” to US “national security.”
“Frankly, Denmark, which controls Greenland, it’s not doing its job and it’s not being a good ally,” Vance said.
On Monday, Frederiksen insisted Denmark was “one of the United States’ most important and best allies.”
Last week, she visited Paris and Berlin to seek backing from the European Union’s traditional powerhouses against Trump’s threats.
A day after Trump was sworn in as president, Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede insisted that Greenlanders “don’t want to be American.”
Danish leaders have insisted that Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders


Hundreds flee Santorini as quakes disrupt life

Hundreds flee Santorini as quakes disrupt life
Updated 04 February 2025
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Hundreds flee Santorini as quakes disrupt life

Hundreds flee Santorini as quakes disrupt life

SANTORINI: Hundreds of people packed a port in Santorini in the early morning hours of Tuesday to board a ferry and reach safety in Athens as a series of quakes kept shaking the famous Greek tourist island.
Hundreds of quakes have been registered every few minutes in the sea between the volcanic islands of Santorini and Amorgos in the Aegean Sea since Friday, prompting authorities to shut schools in Santorini and the small nearby islands of Ios, Amorgos and Anafi until Friday.
A tremor with a magnitude of 4.7 was recorded by the European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) at 0653GMT on the island most of whose popular white and blue villages cling to steep cliffs over the sea.
“Everything is closed. No one works now. The whole island has emptied,” said Dori, a 18-year-old local resident who declined to give his last name, before boarding the ferry to Athens.
“We will go to Athens until we see how things develop here.”
More people were expected to fly out on an additional flight on Tuesday.
With seismologists estimating that the intense seismic activity could take days or weeks to abate, people were advised to stay out of coastal areas due to the risk of landslides and avoid indoor gatherings.
Some hotels started emptying their pools as they were told that the water load made buildings more vulnerable.
Greece is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in Europe as it sits at the boundary of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates whose constant interaction prompts frequent quakes.
Santorini took its current shape following one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history, around 1600 BC. The last eruption in the area occurred in 1950.


Japan PM to meet Trump on Feb. 6-8 US trip: government spokesman

Japan PM to meet Trump on Feb. 6-8 US trip: government spokesman
Updated 30 min 38 sec ago
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Japan PM to meet Trump on Feb. 6-8 US trip: government spokesman

Japan PM to meet Trump on Feb. 6-8 US trip: government spokesman

TOKYO: Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will meet President Donald Trump on a visit to the United States this week, top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Tuesday.
“If circumstances permit, he will visit the United States from February 6-8 and hold (his) first face-to-face Japan-US summit meeting with President Trump in Washington DC,” Hayashi said.


Prisoners killed in Tajikistan riot were members of Daesh

Prisoners killed in Tajikistan riot were members of Daesh
Updated 55 min 47 sec ago
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Prisoners killed in Tajikistan riot were members of Daesh

Prisoners killed in Tajikistan riot were members of Daesh

DUSHANBE: The five prisoners killed in a riot in an escape attempt from a facility in Tajikistan on Tuesday were members of Daesh, a source in Tajik law enforcement said.
Nine prisoners armed with homemade knives attacked guards on Tuesday, according to the justice ministry, which said the prisoners had tried to kill the guards and escape from the penal colony 20 km (12 miles) east of Dushanbe.
At least five prisoners were killed and three prison employees were injured, security agency sources told Reuters.