IMF relaxes rules for Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Senegal

The IMF has approved reforms that will lower members' borrowing costs by 36 percent and lift eight indebted countries out of the requirement to pay more to borrow money.

The suite of changes agreed to by the International Monetary Fund's executive board include adjustments to the surcharges paid by countries with high levels of debt, like Ukraine and Argentina, the Washington-based institution announced in a statement on Friday.

The reforms, which come into effect on November 1, will raise the threshold of debt at which IMF member countries start paying the surcharges, lifting eight of the countries out of the requirement to pay the additional borrowing costs, it added.

They are: Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Georgia, Moldova, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Suriname.

Challenging environment

The IMF estimates that only 11 countries will meet the requirement to pay the surcharge once the new policy begins.

Combined, the measures approved on Friday "will lower IMF borrowing costs for members by 36 percent, or about US$1.2 billion annually," the Fund's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said in a statement.

"In a challenging global environment and at a time of high interest rates, our membership has reached consensus on a comprehensive package that substantially reduces the cost of borrowing, while safeguarding the IMF's financial capacity to support countries in need," she said.