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Norway likely offer IMF $4.5 billion
By Fu Jing (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-03-29 14:40

London -- Norway is likely to contribute about US$4.5 billion of financial resources to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure that the Fund is capable of meeting the borrowing needs of its member countries that might arise in the current crisis.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington. IMF Director General Dominique Strauss-Kahn has said Norway is ready to contribute as much as $4.5 billion of funding to the IMF. [Agencies]

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It was revealed by the IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn Saturday in a statement. "I welcome the announcement today by Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen that Norway's Ministry of Finance and Norges Bank (central bank) are exploring a possible Norwegian contribution of up to 30 billion Norwegian kroner (about US$4.5 billion) of financial resources to the IMF..." he said.

"I look forward, as Minister Halvorsen has proposed, to discussing soon the final size and form of support from Norway that would be best suited to strengthening the IMF's financial resources.

Norway's additional financial support to the IMF would contribute to strengthening the multilateral response to the economic crisis. In making this announcement, Norway is adding to the important steps already made by the European Union and the Government of Japan toward stabilizing the global financial system during this period of unprecedented stress."

"We hope that other countries may now provide their own support to our efforts to restore stability to the global economy," he said.