国际货币基金组织提供十亿美元特别提款权以支撑加纳外汇储备 / IMF Provides US$1bn in SDR

天主的爱

国际货币基金组织 (IMF) 已于2021 年 8 月底，以特别提款权 (SDR) 拨款形式向加纳提供10 亿美元。

为应对自大萧条以来和平时期最严重的全球经济衰退，所有国家都启动特别提款权分配，在 18 个月前基金组织批准的快速信贷工具下提供了 10 亿美元的紧急融资，以帮助对抗全球疫情。

国际货币基金组织 (IMF) 在上一次的扩展信贷安排（2015-2019 年）：下四年内向加纳支付了总计 9.259 亿美元。

分配到的巨额给加纳人民打了 “一剂强心针”。当正值帮助支撑加纳银行的国家外汇储备的关键时刻，疫情危机增加了加纳与世界进行贸易所需的外汇（例如，支付进口疫苗或机械设备的费用），而通过出口赚取外汇的能力却得不到明显提高。到目前为止，加纳已转向国际借贷来满足这些额外的外汇需求。



这种特别提款权分配提供了借款的替代方案，因为加纳不需要偿还基金。这笔分配不是贷款，它代表了加纳在该基金创建并分配给其成员的价值 6500 亿美元的特别提款权储备资产中的份额。

特别提款权（4,560 亿特别提款权 = 6,500 亿美元）按各国在国际货币基金组织资本（或配额）中的持股比例分配，而后者又与其经济规模密切相关。

这只是自 1944 年国际货币基金组织 成立以来的第四次总分配，也是迄今为止规模最大的一次。

最近一次是在 2009 年全球金融危机期间，当时国际货币基金组织向其成员国分配了相当于 2500 亿美元的新特别提款权。

这次特别提款权分配将为许多陷入困境的发展中国家和低收入国家提供流动性支持，使他们能够支付医疗保健费用并支持弱势群体。



如何使用特别提款权是一项主权决定，取决于每个国家的具体需求和情况。

最初，特别提款权作为储备资产存放在中央银行的账簿上。

因此，它们增加了外汇储备，使该国在财政上更具弹性，因为它可以在紧急情况下动用更高的储备。

但是，特别提款权也可以兑换为硬通货并用于为政府支出提供资金。在这种情况下，最佳做法是将其分配到符合中期支出框架的优先领域。

无论是作为外汇，还是作为政府支出的融资，这笔拨款都将为加纳提供救济。

善治和透明度对于使用这些新资源至关重要。例如，应使用增强的预算程序来处理与新冠疫情相关的支出，包括内部和外部审计。

但需要明确的是，特别提款权分配并不是万能的。配置有助于解决短期外汇需求，但没有解决根本问题。

就加纳而言，外汇需求主要是由巨额和持续的财政赤字和利息支付增加造成的。当然，加纳在大流行期间挽救生命和保障生计方面的成功也是造成更大赤字的原因。

但是，展望未来，赤字和融资需求将需要下降，以控制债务并减少对经济的需求压力。因此，改善国内收入动员仍然至关重要，减少借贷也是如此。

渐进式收入措施——让最弱势群体免受伤害，并更快地恢复到大流行前的支出水平，应该对支撑公共财政大有帮助。



IMF Provides US$1bn in SDR to Shore Up Foreign Exchange Reserves

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will, today, August 23, 2021, make resources equivalent to US$1 billion available to Ghana, in the form of a Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation.

Launched for all countries to respond to the worst peacetime global recession since the great depression, the SDR allocation follows the emergency financing disbursement, also of US$1 billion, under the Rapid Credit Facility approved by the Fund 18 months ago to help in the fight against the global pandemic.

To put these amounts in perspective, the Fund disbursed a grand total of US$925.9 million to Ghana over four years under the last Extended Credit Facility (2015-2019).

The allocation is a “shot in the arm” of the Ghanaian. It comes at a pivotal moment to help shore up the country’s foreign exchange reserves at the Bank of Ghana. The COVID-19 crisis has increased the foreign exchange Ghana needs to trade with the world (e.g., to pay for imports of vaccines or of machinery and equipment) while the capacity to earn foreign exchange through exports have not necessarily improved. Until now, Ghana has turned to international borrowing to meet these additional foreign exchange needs.

This SDR allocation provides an alternative to borrowing because Ghana does not need to reimburse the Fund. The allocation is not a loan as it represents Ghana’s share of the US$650 billion-worth in SDR reserve assets created by the Fund and distributed to its members. The SDRs (SDR456 billion = US$650 billion), are distributed in proportion to countries’ shareholding in the IMF capital (or quota), which in turn closely relates to the size of their economies.

This is only the fourth general allocation since the creation of the IMF since 1944 and the largest by far. The most recent was in 2009, during the Global Financial Crisis, when the IMF allocated the equivalent of US$250 billion in new SDRs to its membership. This time around the SDR allocation would provide liquidity support to many developing and low-income countries that are struggling, allowing them to pay for healthcare and support vulnerable people.

How SDRs are used is a sovereign decision and depends on each country’s specific needs and circumstances. Initially, SDRs are placed as a reserve asset on the books of the central bank. As such, they add to foreign exchange reserves, making the country more resilient financially because it can dip into higher reserves in case of emergency.

However, the SDRs can also be exchanged for hard currency and used to finance government spending. In this case, it is best practice to allocate it to priority areas consistent with a medium-term expenditure framework. Either as foreign exchange, or as financing for government spending, the allocation will provide relief to Ghana.

Good governance and transparency are crucial in the use of these new resources. For example, enhanced budget procedures should be used to deal with COVID-19 related spending, including both internal and external audits.

But to be clear, the SDR allocation is no panacea. The allocation helps deal with the foreign exchange needs in the short-term, but it does not address the root problem. In Ghana’s case, foreign exchange needs are mainly caused by large and persistent fiscal deficits and rising interest payments. Of course, Ghana’s success in saving lives and safeguarding livelihoods during the pandemic is also behind the larger deficits.

But, going forward, deficits and financing needs will need to decline to keep debt under control and reduce demand pressures on the economy. Therefore, improving domestic revenue mobilisation remains crucial, so is reducing borrowing.

Progressive revenue measures—that spare the most vulnerable, and a faster return to the pre-pandemic level of spending should go a long way in shoring up public finances.
               
作者：迦纳术略