The International Monetary Fund is making available about 50 billion U.S. dollar through its rapid-disbursing emergency financing facilities for low income and emerging market countries to fight the coronavirus epidemic, which it sees as a serious threat that would slow global growth to below last year’s 2.9 percent. Of this, $10 billion is available at zero interest for the poorest members through the Rapid Credit Facility.
In a report released at joint press conference with World Bank Group President David Malpass on the Coronavirus Response, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva noted on March 4 that for low-income countries, they have rapid-disbursing emergency financing of up to $10 billion (50 percent of quota of eligible members) that can be accessed without a full-fledged IMF program.
Other members can access emergency financing through the Rapid Financing Instrument. This facility could provide about $40 billion for emerging markets that could potentially approach us for financial support, IMF managing director said.
According to her, under any scenario, global growth in 2020 will drop below last year’s level. “How far it will fall, and for how long, is difficult to predict, and would depend on the epidemic, but also on the timeliness and effectiveness of our actions,” Ms. Georgieva said.
IMF staff are currently working on identifying vulnerable countries and estimating potential financing needs should the situation deteriorate further, she added.
