double-skinned crabsVietnamese crab exporter
Advertisement
Advertisement
TOPIC

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Latest news, features and opinion on the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The 189-nation IMF promotes global monetary cooperation, facilities trade, encourages sustainable growth and makes funds available to countries experiencing fiscal difficulties.
People wait outside a busy restaurant in Beijing on Monday. Photo: AFP
China consumption

Boosting China’s social safety net could address consumption woes: IMF director

The global organisation found that savings of rural households decrease when social and healthcare spending is higher.

Belt and Road 2026

How Hong Kong can capitalise on Kazakh asset sales

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong to propel belt and road market expansion, finance chief says

China trade

China rejects G20 trade-imbalance claims, says no need to devalue yuan

Beijing ‘deeply regrets’ a consensus was not reached after opposing some of the language used, and China urges deficit countries to cut spending.

32
Officers stand guard in front of the headquarters of the People’s Bank of China in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
South Korea

South Korea sets record US$600 billion budget, backed by chip windfall

The spending plan ‌represents a 12.8 per cent rise from 2026, marking the largest year-on-year increase in the country’s history.

India

‘Islamic Nato’? Why Pakistan’s new defence pact has India on edge

Analysts say the pact could evolve into a broader ideological military bloc that could extend its influence to the Indian Ocean region.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Banking & finance

Macroscope | Behind the AI stock market bubble lies a weak yen

The tech stock boom, financed in large part by the yen carry trade, is at risk of collapse if the currency strengthens.

videocam
Pedestrians pass a foreign currency indicator board showing the rate of the US dollar against the Japanese yen in Tokyo on August 3. The yen surged against the US dollar, reaching its strongest level in about three months after Japanese and US monetary authorities conducted a coordinated intervention to buy the yen for the first time in 28 years. Photo: EPA
China-Latin America relations

Argentina extends US$19 billion China currency swap despite US pressure

Buenos Aires locks in the yuan line until 2031, months after the US Treasury Department offered a rival facility.

videocam
17
China technology

Open Questions | Nobel laureate Simon Johnson on the AI race and China’s ‘over-automation’ risks

The Nobel Prize-winning economist discusses how AI is reshaping US-China competition – and poses unique challenges for both economies.

videocam
19
US-China relations

Open Questions | Nobel economist on anti-China, anti-science US, AI’s risks

MIT’s Simon Johnson, former IMF chief economist, on Trump’s wrong turns, including tariffs, the AI threat to Chinese jobs and the chances of a global recession.

videocam
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Global monetary policy

Amid rising dollar risks, Plaza Accord-style unity not feasible: ex-IMF adviser

Economic historian Barry Eichengreen says if current policy paths persist, modern rifts could bring about a confidence crisis in the US currency.

China’s yuan is often cited as a possible alternative to the US dollar in global trade. Photo: Reuters
Artificial intelligence

Macroscope | Don’t expect the rising tide of AI to lift all boats

While economies linked to hi-tech supply chains may perform well, unequal outcomes and economic instability still loom for much of the world.

videocam
United States

IMF sees world economy growing just 3% this year amid Iran war

The outlook is weighed down by the Iran war but helped by AI and other technologies.

videocam
China economy

Opinion | A healthy economy isn’t built on asset bubbles and debt pyramids

A financial system designed to increase market valuations rather than improve people’s quality of life is prone to crisis.

videocam
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Science

Chinese police uncover link between investment and attacks on citizens in Africa

Chinese projects, firms and workers in Africa more vulnerable to security threats in regions where armed conflict, social tensions thrive.

videocam
Passengers get off a train at a station on the Chinese-built Lagos-Ibadan Railway in Nigeria. Photo: Xinhua
Venezuela

Venezuela’s leader defends quake response as thousands remain missing

In her first press conference since taking power after Maduro’s capture by the US, Rodriguez lashes critics.

videocam
US, Israel war on Iran

Iran survived 3 months of war. Can it survive the aftermath?

US$270 billion in damage and 4 million citizens plunged into poverty may have broken Iran’s economy.

videocam
18
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Venezuelan crisis

In Venezuela, China’s oil-for-loan deals run into huge US-led debt restructuring

Beijing’s influence in Caracas seen fading, with Washington controlling Venezuela’s oil revenues and debt overhaul, potentially triggering a stand-off.

videocam
14
China’s oil-for-loan mechanism with Venezuela could be affected by Washington's intervention in the country. Photo: Getty Images
China-EU relations

As I see it | Europe wants a new Plaza Accord for China – seriously?

Instead of hoping for Beijing to commit economic suicide, it would be more realistic for the EU to strike a mutually acceptable trade deal.

videocam
27
China-EU relations

European Central Bank’s President Lagarde urges talks on yuan undervaluation

China has denied it manipulates its currency for trade advantage but its surging trade surpluses are worrying leaders of the G7 nations.

7
Americas and the Caribbean

Bolivian lawmakers approve state of emergency as protests choke supply chain

Analysts ⁠and legal experts have warned that the emergency powers could deepen unrest if they fail to address the protests’ underlying causes.

Military personnel stand in formation as they are deployed, while a woman walks past in front of them, after Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a nationwide state of emergency following weeks of violence and blockades, in Cochabamba, Bolivia, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

Bolivia’s president declares state of emergency, paving way for troop deployment

Protests have brought the country’s economy to a halt over issues ranging from the cutting of fuel subsidies to discontent over wages.

A soldier stands outside the Estado Mayor headquarters in La Paz on Saturday, after Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a nationwide state of emergency following weeks of violence and blockades. Photo: Reuters
Artificial intelligence

Outside In | AI’s looming impact on jobs warrants some brakes on development

Just as drugs can’t go to market without thorough testing, the uncertainty surrounding the effect of AI means it must face globally agreed regulations.

videocam
Banking & finance

Open Questions | AIIB head Zou Jiayi on multilateralism as ‘infrastructure of global trust’

As the Beijing-based development bank marks its 10th anniversary, its president says institutions like hers ‘create certainty amid uncertainty’.

Yuan

Yuan poll finds 95% of overseas firms expect to sustain or boost use of currency

Increased international adoption of China’s currency highlights progress in Beijing’s strategic push amid the US dollar’s global financial dominance.

videocam
4
A tiny globe is seen atop a pile of Chinese yuan. Photo: Getty Images
Banking & finance

Mainland China set to issue US$2.2b of sovereign bonds in Hong Kong next week

The offering is expected to be popular with central banks and sovereign funds seeking to diversify away from US dollar assets.

The Ministry of Finance has announced that it plans to issue 15 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion) worth of sovereign bonds in Hong Kong next week. Photo: Getty Images.
China trade

New global financial architecture needed to end trade surplus fixation: Piketty

Economist proposes central bank and currency under the UN to remove fears that ‘world financial markets are going to eat your currency’.

5
Banking & finance

Macroscope | Why bond yields are going up everywhere

Unlike stock markets, bond markets are signalling a more cognisant and mature appreciation of the state of government finances.

5
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement