BORROWING PLANS

Press, Volume C, Issue 29624, 21 September 1961, Page 12

BORROWING PLANS

I.M.F. Seeking Currency

(N.Z.P.A.~Reuter—Copyright} VIENNA. Sept. 19.

The International Monetary Fund is considering plans to borrow extra currency from member countries, the managing director of the Fund (Mr Per Jacobssen) said yeaterday.

He was presenting the annual report to a joint meeting of the Fund and the World Bank, attended by finance experts from more than 70 countries. Mr Jacobssen said that arrangements would be made in particular with the main industrial countries “because of the major role they play in international trade and payments.” Intense activity over the past year, he said, had slashed the Fund’s holdings of certain currencies to a very low level in spite of the recent sale of gold. It was vital to consolidate and defend the convertible system built up over the past few years and to avoid the risk of any relapse into restrictions and currency disorder, he added.

Mr Suntborn Hongladorom, Thailand’s finance Minister and chairman of yesterday's joint session, said that Western Europe's rapid recovery and economic growth had created an expanded market for the rest of the world. Some of the points Mr Hongladorom made were: The World Bank had loans commitment* approaching 8000 m dollars (about £2150m). Drawings on the International Monetary Fund this year had already reached more than 23,000 m dollar* (about £2Bom) more than double the previous peak year of 1957. Since the Fund began in 1947 it had given foreign exchange assistance totalling more than 7000 m dollars (about £2soom>.