The International Monetary Fund agreed to a new conditional bailout for Greece, ending two years of speculation on whether it would join in another rescue and giving the seal of approval demanded by many of the country's euro-area creditors.
The Washington-based fund said Thursday its executive board approved "in principle" a new loan worth as much as $1.8 billion (Dh7.7bn). The disbursement of funds is contingent on euro-zone countries providing debt relief to Greece.
"As we have said many times, even with full program implementation, Greece will not be able to restore debt sustainability and needs further debt relief from its European partners," IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said in a statement. "A debt strategy anchored in more realistic assumptions needs to be agreed. I expect a plan to restore debt sustainability to be agreed soon between Greece and its European partners."
IMF officials estimate that, even if Greece carries out promised reforms, the nation's debt will reach about 150 per cent of gross domestic product by 2030, and become "explosive" beyond that point. European creditors could bring the debt under control by extending grace periods, lengthening the maturity of
the debt or deferring interest payments, the IMF said in a report accompanying the announcement.
The IMF's decision to agree on the "precautionary stand-by arrangement" reflects the compromise reached in June between euro-area finance ministers reluctant to offer more generous repayment terms to Greece, and the fund, which resisted financing a country whose debt it considers too high to be paid back in full.
"Despite no prospect of an immediate disbursement, the IMF's participation is useful for everyone," Tassos Anastasatos, an economist at Eurobank Ergasias, said before Thursday's announcement. While for euro-area governments it's a "disciplining device" on Greece, in the long-term it gives Athens leverage to demand something more on debt relief, he said.
A much-anticipated Greek return to bond markets this week has been held off partly due to a ceiling set by the IMF on the amount of debt the country can hold, according to three officials familiar with the matter. Using possible workarounds like debt swaps -- that could improve Greece's maturity profile without increasing the overall load -- the government is waiting on how markets react to the IMF's debt sustainability analysis before a possible foray as soon as next week.
The government is closely monitoring conditions in bond markets, and will only return when the time is right, Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told reporters in Athens on Thursday.
Having the IMF co-finance Greece's rescue program was a key demand of many of the country's euro-area creditors, led by Germany, who see the fund's participation as ensuring the credibility of the reforms the country is asked to implement.
But upcoming elections in Germany also made it impossible for Berlin to concede to any further debt relief for Greece, pushing instead for all decisions to be taken at the end of the country's bailout in the summer of 2018 -- and only if needed.
While the fund's decision helps both the IMF and Germany stick to their guns, it does mean the issue will likely arise after the German elections in the fall, when the question of whether Greece will actually receive any loans from the IMF resurfaces.
* Bloomberg
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE results
Lost to Oman by eight runs
Beat Namibia by three wickets
Lost to Oman by 12 runs
Beat Namibia by 43 runs
UAE fixtures
Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv
Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium
Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
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UAE's role in anti-extremism recognised
General John Allen, President of the Brookings Institution research group, commended the role the UAE has played in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
He told a Globsec debate of the UAE’s "hugely outsized" role in the fight against Isis.
"It’s trite these days to say that any country punches above its weight, but in every possible way the Emirates did, both militarily, and very importantly, the UAE was extraordinarily helpful on getting to the issue of violent extremism," he said.
He also noted the impact that Hedayah, among others in the UAE, has played in addressing violent extremism.
