Indonesia repays IMF debt four years early
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Because of its recent good economic performance, Indonesia was able to pay back in October the remaining $3.2 billion of the $11.1 billion it borrowed from the IMF during the Asian financial crisis that began in the late 1990s. Indonesia, along with Korea and Thailand, was among the Asian countries hardest hit by the crisis. Indonesia had been scheduled to make its final payment in 2010.
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Indonesia's strong economic recovery has enabled it to repay four years early the remaining $3.2 billion of the $11.1 billion it borrowed from the IMF in the years after the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.
John Lipsky, First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, said in a statement that Indonesia's ability to repay well ahead of schedule "reflects the strength of Indonesia's economic recovery and its strong balance of payments position."
He praised the nation's economic achievements over the past several years.
Indonesia, a country of 225 million, is the last of the three hardest-hit Asian nations-Korea and Thailand being the other two-to repay the borrowings made to support their economies during the crisis. Both Korea and Thailand had repaid their IMF loans by the end of 2003. Indonesia was not scheduled to make its final loan payment until the end of 2010. It repaid about $3.7 billion last July.
In the IMF's most recent review of the Indonesian economy in July, Executive Directors noted the country's "considerable achievements since the crisis" and said that it has "continued to make steady economic progress" despite recent severe earthquakes and tsunamis. In particular, Directors noted a return to a precrisis level of real GDP, a declining trend of public debt, and improved creditworthiness.
Saudi Arabia is successfully keeping inflation very low despite large surpluses earned from high oil prices. Its external current account surplus is projected to reach 31.3 percent of GDP in 2006, and the central government surplus, 17.2 percent of GDP.
Part of the fiscal surplus will be used to pay down the central government debt, which is projected to decline to 17 percent of GDP. The country's growth prospects for 2006 are very favorable in light of the expected sustained increase in global demand for oil...
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