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The
IMF has yet to make clear if it will participate in the third
86-billion-euro ($96 billion) international bailout that Greece
signed up to in early August, having argued in favor of a
partial writedown of a debt burden it considers unsustainable in
its current form.
Greece's euro zone creditors, notably Germany, have ruled out a
writedown but are willing to consider other forms of
restructuring such as a lengthening maturities.
Asked about those differences, IMF Managing Director Christine
Lagarde told Saturday's edition of Le Temps: "The debate on
cancelling the debt has never been open I don't think it is
necessary to open it if things go well...
"We are talking about extending maturities, reducing rates,
(making) exemptions for a certain period of time. We are not
speaking about cancelling debt."
The interview made no mention of whether the IMF will take part
in the new bailout, which Lagarde has previously said it will
make a decision on by October.
NO CHINESE HARD LANDING?
Turning to China, Lagarde said she expected the country's
economic growth rate to remain close to previous estimates even
if some sort of slowdown was inevitable after its rapid
expansion.
China devalued its yuan currency this month after exports
tumbled in July, spooking global markets worried that a main
driver of growth was running out of steam.
"The slowdown was predictable, predicted, unavoidable," Lagarde
was quoted as saying.
"We expect that China will have a growth rate of 6.8 percent. It
may be a little less." The IMF did not believe growth would fall
to 4 or 4.5 percent, as some foresaw.
Noting that a drop in commodity prices had hit many emerging
markets, she said those economies were "at the center of our
attention."
($1 = 0.8946 euros)
(Reporting by Michael Shields and Shadia Nasralla; editing by
John Stonestreet)
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