Transcript of a Press Briefing by Gerry Rice, Director, Communications Department, International Monetary Fund

IMF News, May 23, 2014

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Transcript of a Press Briefing by Gerry Rice, Director, Communications Department, International Monetary Fund

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Bibliographic details

• Published: May 23, 2014

Logistics, travel, and events

• Date/locations noted in the briefing: "May 23, 2014" and "Washington, D.C. Thursday, May 22, 2014."
• Announcements:
  • Christine Lagarde to give keynote at the European Central Bank Forum on Monetary Policy in a Changing Financial Landscape in Sintra, Portugal on Sunday, May the 25th; speech to be distributed.
  • Christine Lagarde to give keynote at the Inclusive Capitalism Conference in London on May 27th; speech to be made available.
  • Christine Lagarde to attend conference in Maputo, Mozambique on May the 29th and 30th entitled “Africa Rising”; conference jointly organized by the government of Mozambique and the IMF; expected attendance: "well over 300 participants" including finance ministers, Central Bank governors, private sector, civil society, Parliamentarians, youth groups, and representatives from other countries; arrangements for live webcasts.
• Senior staff movements:
  • First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton to be in Tokyo next week for the Article IV on Japan; press conference tentatively scheduled for Friday, May the 30th.
  • David Lipton to be in Beijing for the China Article IV concluding discussion; press conference tentatively scheduled for June the 5th.
  • Deputy Managing Director Naoyuki Shinohara attending the World Economic Forum on East Asia in the Philippines.

Article IV season and country engagements

• IMF entering "a very heavy Article IV season" with major consultations forthcoming for Japan, China, the UK, the U.S., and the Euro Zone.
• Specific plans:
  • Japan Article IV: David Lipton in Tokyo; press conference tentatively May the 30th.
  • China Article IV: press conference tentatively June the 5th.
• Argentina:
  • Background: Executive Board decision in December 2013 called for an initial set of specified actions including public release of a new national inflation consumer price index data set and revised GDP estimates by "end of March 2014," with further action "by end of September 2014," and "by end February 2015."
  • Status: "The first of these reports was submitted to the Board last week."
  • Board scheduling: "The Board meeting on that report is now scheduled for June 6th to discuss the matter."

Greece program review and contingency questions

• Board schedule and disbursement:
  • Confirmed: "the Board will meet on May the 30th to discuss, that's the fifth review, of Greece's program."
  • Conditional disbursement: approval of the fifth review "would enable a disbursement of about €3.5 billion. That's combining two disbursements given the delay in reaching agreement on the review."
  • Mission timing: team expected to "briefly visit Athens in July" with the next mission to conclude "after the summer."
• Scenario planning and "Plan Z":
  • IMF position described repeatedly: will not comment on specific news stories; general practice is to draw up various economic scenarios as part of advice to members.
  • Direct responses to questions:
  • "I'm not aware of any such plan currently. So I don't have that."
  • "We do not. To be clear, I’m not aware of any such plan."
  • On participating in the reported "Plan Z" meetings: "I'm not going to comment on that story."

Mali: governance concerns and program review delay

• Issues raised by the IMF:
  • Concerns about "the purchase of the presidential plane" (questioner referenced "president bought a jet for 40 million") and "the issuance of a significant state guarantee to allow a private company to buy supplies."
  • Under Mali's ECF arrangement, authorities committed to execute their budget "in line with the priorities highlighted in their strategy, in their growth and poverty reduction strategy, and in accordance with sound public financial management practices."
• Actions and implications:
  • IMF has "contacted the authorities ... to ask for more information about this purchase" and the state guarantee.
  • "Getting satisfactory information about these transactions and reassurance that the authorities still stand behind the fiscal stability and sound financial management practice objectives of their arrangement with the IMF will take time."
  • Effect on program calendar: "It will delay the first review of the arrangement initially scheduled for June."
  • No specific revised timetable provided: "I don't have a specific time table."
  • IMF ready to "work with the Malian authorities on the diagnosis of weaknesses in public financial management, and on remedial actions to address these weaknesses in order so that we can move ahead with the review of the ECF."

Ukraine: gas arrears, Naftohaz-Gazprom, and program monitoring

• Mission timing: "we expect the mission to be in Kiev during the last week of June, first week of July."
• On Naftohaz–Gazprom disputes:
  • IMF role: not a party to bilateral company discussions; encourages both sides "to reach a mutually acceptable agreement as soon as possible."
  • Fiscal treatment: Naftohaz is described as "an autonomous entity" and "not part of the budgetary process"; the program "also monitors the deficit of Naftohaz in order to properly take into account fiscal and quasi-fiscal risks."
  • Program design: the Fund-supported program "does leave room, it does enable the repayment of arrears in 2014, and for Ukraine, generally, to remain current on its external payments."

Russia–China gas contract and sanctions context

• New agreement reported: "the Russians and the Chinese just signed a huge contract amounting to $400 billion over the next 30 years."
• IMF reaction:
  • Staff are "currently examining the implications of that agreement for the Russian economy."
  • Immediate assessment withheld: "It's too early to answer these questions as the details of the agreement are still not known."
  • General approach: take time to "look at the details, which we don't have, and then make a deliberate and balanced assessment."

Venezuela and IMF engagement

• Article IV status: "We haven't been able to conduct the Article IV ... with Venezuela for quite some time."
• Broader dialogue: absence of an Article IV "makes it difficult to ... move forward in a substantive way," though IMF remains "open to dialogue with our member countries."

Social dimension, public debate, and IMF communications

• Smith College commencement:
  • Managing Director declined invitation to make the commencement address, citing the likelihood of protests and desire "that the celebratory nature of the event should be respected and upheld."
  • Managing Director has given commencement addresses in the past and "would, indeed, do other commencement addresses in the future."
• Public debate on IMF policy:
  • Noted evolution: "the IMF over the last number of years has evolved and changed significantly," with increased attention to "the social dimension," protecting "the poor and the vulnerable," issues such as "inequality," and attention to groups such as women.
  • Cited analysis noted by commentators: "under IMF programs ... expenditures on health and education have actually increased not gone down."

Balkans flooding response

• Immediate concerns: "serious flooding in the Balkans" with significant impact on Serbia and Bosnia; "wide-spread damage" and human casualties.
• Assistance and engagement:
  • Serbia eligible for aid from the EU's disaster Fund as an EU pre-accession country.
  • IMF engagement through "policy advice" and discussions with other international financial organizations via the resident representative.
  • IMF staff team "on the ground right now" in Bosnia.

Transcript of a Press Briefing by Gerry Rice, Director, Communications Department, International Monetary Fund — May 23, 2014

References

• Argentina and the IMF
• People's Republic of China and the IMF
• Greece and the IMF
• Mali and the IMF
• Republic of Mozambique and the IMF
• Russian Federation and the IMF
• Republic of Serbia and the IMF
• Ukraine and the IMF
• República Bolivariana de Venezuela and the IMF
• Japan and the IMF
• IMF Policy Advice -- A Factsheet
• Transcripts
• Gerry Rice
• PRESS CENTER
• Webcast
• https://www.imf.org/en/home