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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.
Photo illustration of Argentine peso notes and a US$100 bill in Buenos Aires. Photo: AFP
Argentina

Argentina targets US dollars hoarded under mattresses, eases tax evasion rules

The country wants Argentines to bank their dollars amid high inflation, with estimates of ‘mattress dollars’ totalling US$251 billion.

Japan

Japan may lose GDP race to India amid weak yen, tourism woes, China row

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India

India overtakes Japan as world’s fourth largest economy, eyes top 3 in 2026

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Technology

Opinion | Forget the US dollar. Watch water and energy resources instead

In our increasingly hi-tech-based economy and financial systems, energy and water resources will be macroeconomically critical.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
China trade

China’s record trade surplus could prompt protectionist response in 2026: report

American researchers say restrictions on Chinese imports could help create complications for Beijing’s economic growth target next year.

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Banking & finance

Opinion | Global finance is quietly moving east

The IMF’s Shanghai Centre will not alter global finance overnight but shows that Asia’s voice in shaping international financial norms is growing louder.

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China consumption

China’s growth engines sputter as retail and investment hit in November

Retail sales grew just 1.3 per cent, with growth momentum slowing for six straight months, and January-November investment fell 2.6 per cent as the property slump persisted.

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China’s retail sales, a key gauge of consumer spending, grew by only 1.3 per cent in November, year on year, falling well short of consensus expectations. Photo: Getty Images
China exports

China aims to boost imports, exports in 2026 to drive trade: senior official

Beijing also seeks to increase consumption by loosening restrictions, raising incomes and attracting tourist spending, Han Wenxiu says.

United States

Outside In | It’s an expensive Christmas for Americans thanks to Trump’s tariffs

It’s been years since the US president extolled the virtues of trade wars: how much longer before he recognises tariffs harm the US economy?

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China GDP

IMF raises China growth forecast to 5% for 2025, citing resilience

The assessment is up from October’s forecast, with the fund citing government stimulus and lower tariffs as drivers.

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IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks at a press conference during the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and IMF in Washington, DC, the United States, on April 24. Photo: Xinhua
Artificial intelligence

AI spending helps save global economy under threat of trade war, IMF director says

AI investment, especially in the US, helped mute the impacts of increased tariffs, Jihad Azour says at Abu Dhabi Finance Week.

Jihad Azour, director of IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, speaks during Abu Dhabi Finance Week in the United Arab Emirates on December 8, 2025. Photo: Coco Feng
China jobs

Open Questions | Economist Huang Yiping on why China’s AI push must be ‘job-oriented’

Dean of Peking University’s National School of Development says ‘balance’ needed in AI development to protect employment, ‘human well-being’.

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Sri Lanka

627 dead in Sri Lanka landslides as rains batter South, Southeast Asia

At least 1,812 people have been killed in the natural disasters rolling across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

China-Japan relations

Beijing rebuffs Takaichi, Macron-Xi talks, key economic meeting

This week: China rejects Takaichi’s Taiwan climbdown, Macron visits Xi in Beijing, US deepens Taiwan ties, PBOC slams stablecoins. Next week: economic planning meeting, November trade and inflation data, Hong Kong Legco elections and more.

Image: Shutterstock
India

India’s strong economic growth impresses amid doubts on ‘overstated’ data

Questions about India’s latest 8.2 per cent GDP quarterly growth have been raised by ANZ Bank and analysts.

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Workers scan packages ahead of dispatch from the Flipkart fulfillment centre in Haryana. Domestic consumer demand is a key pillar of India’s economy. Photo: AFP
China's economic recovery

Explainer | What’s next for China’s economy in 2026 – and how it plans to tackle challenges

Top investment banks forecast moderate growth next year amid trade, property and structural challenges.

Banking & finance

Macroscope | Global stablecoin surge highlights overlooked risks in crypto finance

The politics around digital currencies have extended into the long-running battle for supremacy between the world’s major currencies.

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My Take

My Take | How China goes toe to toe with the West and softly-softly with the rest

Beijing rarely claims altruism. It always wants something from you, but most of the time, its approach is pragmatic, respectful and usually beneficial.

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China’s Premier Li Qiang at the G20 Leaders’ Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Sunday. Photo: AP
South Africa

China, allies drive agenda at G20 South Africa summit amid US no-show

All participants but one endorse Johannesburg Declaration focusing on African debt crises, climate initiatives and critical minerals.

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China economy

Opinion | The rise of a Beijing-led ‘Global South Consensus’

As the Global South seeks a better development model and China looks for alternatives to mature markets, a match made out of mutual need is emerging.

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Asean

Widodo hails Southeast Asia’s rise as ‘global force’ in entrepreneurship

Former Indonesian leader says the next unicorn could emerge from Southeast Asia and urges the region to prepare for an ‘intelligent economy’.

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Joko Widodo, Indonesia’s former president, has urged Southeast Asian countries to prepare for an “intelligent economy”. Photo: dpa
Diplomacy

Opinion | As power balance tips to China, world needs a fairer financial system

China-led macro region will have to work on independence of monetary policy and partnerships in a fairer financial and trade framework.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
South Korea

Macroscope | South Korea’s challenges a taste of what’s to come for global economy

While South Korea has been a big beneficiary of the AI boom, the surge is also highlighting its domestic and geopolitical vulnerabilities.

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Bangladesh

Justice or chaos? Bangladesh on edge as Hasina verdict looms

The verdict on Monday could pile pressure on the interim administration as it seeks to reform the country ahead of next year’s election.

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Vietnam

The View | Why Vietnam’s property sector has weathered Trump’s tariff typhoon well

Trump’s tariff blitz has not just provided an impetus for reforms, it has helped address misconceptions about Vietnam’s manufacturing sector.

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A man walks past a Nike billboard outside a shopping mall in Hanoi on July 8. Washington and Hanoi unveiled a trade pact with much fanfare and few details, but it allowed Vietnam to avoid Trump’s initial 46 per cent tariff. Photo: AFP
Trade

Macroscope | Exports no longer enough to lift Asia out of ‘middle-income trap’

Developing nations are being urged to boost domestic demand and mutual trade to drive growth, but key factors like population ageing must also be addressed.

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Customers flock to buy vegetarian food during the Vegetarian Festival at a market in Chinatown in Bangkok on October 21. The International Monetary Fund has projected Thailand’s economic growth forecast for 2025 at 2 per cent and expects the gross domestic product to sharply slow to 1.6 per cent for 2026. Photo: EPA
Thailand

Asian Angle | Thailand’s ‘China plus one’ successes mask a middle-income quagmire

FDI figures hide the painful truth: an ageing workforce, structural challenges and low-value assembly threaten economic stagnation.

China economy

Opinion | China needs high-quality financial development to support its five-year goals

Inclusive and green finance that is risk-resilient and supportive of innovation and technology must be the foundation of the new Chinese development model.

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