IMF to webcast sovereign debt conference
Failing economies brought down by too much debt cause corruption and capital flight. The IMF has other reasons for wanting to do something about it and they have some talking heads who will explain it.
The IMF is to hold a public conference at the IMF hall in Washington DC on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 from 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m Washington time. The topic, "A New Approach to Sovereign Debt Restructuring: An IMF Proposal" is one which impacts on many of the world's weaker economies and which demonstrates the conditions that allow corruption and capital flight to flourish. Whether the speakers touch on those issues remains to be seen. The IMF says "The question of how nations handle unsustainable sovereign debt has become a pressing issue for the international community. The Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism (SDRM) is a proposal from the IMF designed to fill a gap in the global financial system for dealing with this problem. The mechanism would provide a framework for debtor nations and creditors to negotiate a debt restructuring in an orderly and timely fashion, so as to reduce uncertainty and economic dislocation.
"How would an SDRM work, and who would decide whether a country's sovereign debt burden is unsustainable? Would all sovereign debt be covered? What would be the IMF's role? How might the SDRM affect private sector flows to emerging markets and borrowing costs? "
A panel will give their ideas.
You can keep up with the event in a live webcast at http://www.imf.org/External/NP/EXR/ECForums/2003/012203.htm. (if the link does not work then we suggest deleting the end of the address in sections back to the most recent backslash until a link is found. The address is that set out on the IMF's website but we think that another page may be assigned at a later date)
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