$10 billion international trade finance initiative under planning

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GENEVA, March 19 Kyodo -
The Group of 20 major rich and emerging countries are considering a $10 billion
World Bank-led initiative to support trade finance that has been hard hit by
the financial crisis, trade sources said Wednesday.
They are willing to reach agreement on the initiative at a G-20 financial
summit in London on April 2, they said.
The trade finance market, where banks provide those engaged in trade businesses
with short-term loans for export or import settlements, is reportedly $100
billion short under the financial crisis.
The G-20 countries are planning for the World Bank to create a $10-$11 billion
fund. Since trade finance loans are usually repaid over short terms, the fund
is expected to effectively provide some $50 billion to the market over a year.
The World Trade Organization is concerned about shrinking international trade
under the financial crisis and has been backing the trade finance support
initiative.
WTO Director General Pascal Lamy will attend the financial summit to discuss
the initiative as well as the pending Doha Round of multilateral trade
liberalization talks, a WTO official said.
==Kyodo
2009-03-19 19:38:45