IMF chief to visit Phl next week

MANILA, Philippines - The chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be visiting the Philippines next week as part of a tour of Asian countries meant to solicit advice on how to solve the European debt crisis, a finance official said.

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde will arrive on Nov. 15 and stay here for two days, Finance Undersecretary Rosalia de Leon said in a phone interview.

“Basically, she is really going around for discussions with Asian countries. In fact, after the Philippines, she will go to another Asian nation,” she added.

According to a press briefing transcript of IMF external relations director Gerry Rice, Lagarde will be on an Asian tour between Nov. 14 and 20, visiting Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia, where she will also attend the East Asia Summit and the Global Dialogue of the Association of South East Asian Nations.

“In Tokyo, she (Lagarde) told us that she wanted to solicit Asia’s suggestions on how can the European debt crisis be solved faster,” De Leon said, referring to last month’s World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings in Japan.

In addition, Lagarde may also seek an audience with President Aquino, she added.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, who is the Philippines’ alternate governor to the IMF, will likely preside over Lagarde’s visit, De Leon said.

The Philippines is an IMF member since 1945 with the central bank head sitting as the country’s governor, and the finance secretary, alternate governor. De Leon said Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. will be out of the country during Lagarde’s stay.

Full itinerary of the visit is still being finalized, she pointed out. BSP investor relations chief Claro Fernandez said he “had no details on that.”

IMF representative to the Philippines, Shanaka Jayanath Peiris, could also not be reached for comment as of press time.

IMF is helping euro zone nations get back on their feet, partially funding bailouts given to Greece, Ireland and Portugal, countries which have been badly hit by a three-year-old debt crisis.

Last June, the multilateral agency called on its member-countries for more contributions meant to strengthen the fund amid the still weak global economy. The Philippines, an IMF net creditor since 2010, responded by lending $1 billion.

Though have been freed already of all IMF debts, the Philippines still taps the multilateral agency for technical assistance on matters such as taxation and banking and finance.