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IMF’s Georgieva urges countries to ‘go big’ with coronavirus rescue spending

International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said Friday that the global economy is now in a recession thanks to COVID-19, but that she’s heartened to see world leaders finally realizing that only a coordinated effort will be able to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Kristalina Georgieva said she was particularly concerned about emerging markets and developing countries which had seen $83 billion in capital outflows and predicted they would need upwards of $2.5 trillion (2 trillion pounds) in financial resources to recover from virus-related disruptions.

IMF member countries had encouraged the Fund to focus its efforts on steps that could be done quickly, including a doubling of emergency financing to $100 billion and creation of a new short-term liquidity facility, she said in an interview.

Asked whether the global economy needs more than the $5 trillion in new rescue spending pledged by G20 countries on Thursday, Georgieva said: “Our advice is go big.”

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