[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Major foreign media reported on the 25th (local time) that the scale of International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout support this year is reaching an all-time high.
As of the end of August, the IMF has confirmed support of a total of $140 billion through 44 bailout plans. The support amount by the end of August has already surpassed the annual support scale of 2020, when the largest support in history was provided, and last year.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in March 2020, still unresolved, the ongoing Ukraine war this year and the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate hikes have rapidly slowed the global economy, causing a sharp increase in low-income countries suffering damage. As the Fed continues to raise interest rates and global financial market rates also keep rising accordingly, bailout funds are expected to increase further in the coming months.
Including funds that the IMF has agreed to lend but have not yet been disbursed, the actual bailout scale has already exceeded $268 billion.
Professor Kevin Gallagher of Boston University's Global Development Policy Center, who participated in this investigation, analyzed that the world's 55 poorest countries must repay $436 billion in debt from this year through 2028. The repayment amounts for this year and next year are $61 billion, and it is confirmed to approach $70 billion in 2024.
Some express concerns that the IMF's lending capacity may soon reach its limit.
The IMF dismissed concerns about the limit. An IMF official explained that the IMF can support nearly $1 trillion, and the bailout scale supported so far is only a part of the lending limit.
According to IMF regulations, IMF member countries can receive support up to 145% of their IMF quota. However, support exceeding this limit often occurs.
The IMF support approved for Argentina in March this year was more than 10 times Argentina's quota. Goldman Sachs also predicted that Egypt will soon receive support of about $15 billion, which is six times Egypt's quota.
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