BOJ gets IMF money

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has received an allocation of Special Drawing Rights from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), equivalent to US$303.4 million or approximately 74 per cent of Jamaica’s quota with the Fund.



Special Drawing Rights is an interest bearing international reserve asset created by the IMF to supplement the official reserves of the central banks of member countries.



The Finance Ministry says the allocation follows the decision by the IMF to bolster the reserves of member countries with a general amount of the SDR’s equivalent to US$250,000 billion.



The decision by the IMF arose out of the need to bolster liquidity in the global economy following the financial crisis and the resulting tightening of global capital markets.



Central banks of member countries now have an opportunity to acquire additional hard currency to support their external obligations such as Balance of Payments.



Member countries will also benefit from a special allocation of SDR’s on September 9 totalling US$33 billion.



This follows an amendment to the IMF’s Articles of Agreement (Fourth Amendment), which will enable members to participate in the SDR system on a more equitable basis.



Under this arrangement, Jamaica will receive SDR of $18 million or approximately US$27.4 million bringing the total allocation to US$330 million.