LM.F. asked to sell gold for aid

Press, 9 February 1983, Page 10

LM.F. asked to sell gold for aid

NZPA-Reuter Geneva ; The International Monetary Fund has been asked to ■ sell a significant proportion ■ of its gold stocks to help ‘ rescue developing countries' from a cash shortage that . threatens to ' extinguish i economic growth. The suggestion is one of i the emergency measures ; proposed in a report by the .' United Nations Conference ! on Trade and Development, j which says the Third World ■ will need at least S7O billion : over the next two years to j stop a slide to stagnation and j restore economic develo'p- - ment. I The conference said the j world economic recession had played a very significant role in producing severe pay-

ments problems for developing countries, placing them under financial strains of unparallelled intensity. By selling gold, the 1 M F. could reopen the "trust fund" which lends to poorer countries at reduced rates, the conference said. But to tackle the core of the problem would require much greater cash-raising, including the creation of an additional S3O billion in I.M.F. Special Drawing Rights, a doubting of I.M.F. subscriptions, and an acceleration of the World Bank's lending, the report recommended.

The proposals will be presented to a meeting of the conference in Belgrade in June.