São Paulo – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Monday (27) that it has included South Sudan among the poorest member nations that can receive loans from the institution at zero interest rate. Through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT), South Sudan and another 71 countries may receive loans rapidly and with more flexible payment terms than those generally practiced by the IMF.
The country became independent from Sudan in July 2011 and, in the first half of 2012, became the 188th member of the IMF. This line of loans is granted to the poorest countries that need money rapidly and in cases of emergency. Some of the countries benefited by this line of credit are Bangladesh, Senegal, the Republic of the Congo and the Cameroon.
The total volume to which Southern Sudan has the right is approximately 123 million SDRs (special drawing rights), the IMF’s foreign currency assets. The SDR is rated according to a basket of currencies including the dollar, pound sterling, yen and euro. Each SDR could be traded for US$ 1.52 last Friday (24th).
*Translated by Mark Ament
