Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Global debt dominates as G20 finance chiefs meet

Multilateral development banks’ reform and cryptocurrency regulations are also in focus

Global debt dominates as G20 finance chiefs meet

G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs opened talks on Monday (17) on debt restructuring deals, multilateral bank reform and finance to tackle climate change.

Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, chair and host of the summit in Gandhinagar, began by telling finance leaders of "the responsibility we have... to steer the global economy towards strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth".

Key on the two-day agenda will be "facilitating consensus to intractable issues associated with rising indebtedness", Sitharaman said earlier on Monday, speaking to reporters alongside US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Talks will also focus on "critical global issues such as strengthening the multilateral development banks and taking coordinated climate action", Sitharaman added.

Yellen said: "The world is looking to the G20 to make progress on key challenges like climate change and pandemics as part of our work to strengthen the global economy."

She also cited work to tackle debt distress among the world's poorest countries, noting debt restructuring progress in Zambia, which she had discussed when visiting Beijing this month.

'Go faster'


China, the world's second-largest economy and a major lender to several stressed, low-income countries in Asia and Africa, has so far resisted a common multilateral understanding on the issue, officials said.

Yellen on Sunday said the Zambia deal had taken "too long to negotiate", and added she hoped debt treatments for Ghana and Sri Lanka could be "finalised quickly".

"We should apply the common principles we agreed to in Zambia's case in other cases, rather than starting at zero every time," Yellen said. "And we must go faster."

More than half of all low-income countries are near or in debt distress, double the case in 2015, Yellen added.

A top official from G20 chair India said there had been a "not so encouraging response" from Beijing on shared debt understanding.

Several economies have struggled following the double blow of the coronavirus pandemic and fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine - which hit global fuel and commodity prices.

China is a major creditor in some of these cases and has faced criticism for its stand on nations' debt restructuring.

Climate finance

The Group of 20 major economies will also discuss multilateral development banks' reform, cryptocurrency regulations, and making access to financing to mitigate and adapt to the impact of climate change easier.

"In the Global North, climate change means emissions reductions," World Bank chief Ajay Banga said in an op-ed ahead of the meeting.

"But in the Global South, it is a matter of survival, because hurricanes are stronger, heat-resistant seeds are in short supply, drought is destroying farms and towns, and floods are washing away decades of progress."

A newly agreed first step on a fairer distribution of tax revenues from multinational firms reached by 138 countries last week is also set to be delivered.

Multinationals, especially tech firms, are currently able to shift profits easily to countries with low tax rates even though they carry out only a small part of their activities there.

But there is also concern that developed G7 member countries' focus on Russia's invasion of Ukraine may derail a final consensus agreement, although Yellen has said she would "push back" on criticism that there was a tradeoff between aid to Kyiv and developing nations.

(AFP)

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less