IMF to hike quota for China; raise $8 billion for lending to poor countries

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to raise the membership quota of the People's Republic of China to around 6 per cent from the current 3.9 per cent, the Japanese business daily Nikkei reported today.

The quota hike, which will put China on a par with Japan in the IMF membership voting rights, is expected to be effective next year, after the Fund's executive board meets in November to finalise the issue, the report said.

The IMF is also likely to increase the quota for other emerging nations such as India, South Korea, Indonesia and Brazil, in tune with their current economic standing, while reducing that of some European nations, the paper said.

IMF is also raising about $8 billion from Japan, the Banque de France, the United Kingdom and the People's Bank of China to support its lending to low-income countries.

The IMF's executive board will meet by November to reach a broad agreement on specific changes, which will likely be implemented next year, the paper said.

IMF quotas are assigned on the basis of the gross domestic product, openness, economic viability, and international reserves of individual countries.