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Tunisia Asks IMF for Finance Program

International Monetary Fund logo is seen outside the headquarters building during the IMF/World Bank spring meeting in Washington, US. Reuters file photo
International Monetary Fund logo is seen outside the headquarters building during the IMF/World Bank spring meeting in Washington, US. Reuters file photo
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Tunisia Asks IMF for Finance Program

International Monetary Fund logo is seen outside the headquarters building during the IMF/World Bank spring meeting in Washington, US. Reuters file photo
International Monetary Fund logo is seen outside the headquarters building during the IMF/World Bank spring meeting in Washington, US. Reuters file photo

Tunisia has asked the International Monetary Fund for a new financing program, the IMF said on Sunday, as the country prepared to begin talks with the global lender.

“The Tunisian authorities have officially requested a new program,” an IMF spokeswoman said. “The IMF has been and will remain Tunisia’s reliable partner during these challenging times.”

The IMF reiterated the need for any reform moves to be the result of an agreement between Tunisia’s main stakeholders as well as the country’s international partners, according to the letter to Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi shared Sunday with Bloomberg by government adviser Moufdi Al-Mseddi.

Reforms should also “tackle decisively” the issue of public finances and debt and a restructuring of subsidies, public firms and the public wage bill, the IMF said.

Tunisian officials said Mechichi will travel to Washington on May 3 to hold talks with IMF officials.

Tunisia reported a fiscal deficit of 11.5% of economic output in 2020, the biggest gap in nearly four decades as the coronavirus pandemic took its toll.

The country last year secured nearly $750 million through an emergency assistance loan from the IMF to help counter the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

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China Has ‘Very Big’ Policy Room to Spur Growth, Central Bank Adviser Says 

A man walks past office buildings at the central business district in Beijing on March 17, 2025. (AFP) 
A man walks past office buildings at the central business district in Beijing on March 17, 2025. (AFP) 
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China Has ‘Very Big’ Policy Room to Spur Growth, Central Bank Adviser Says 

A man walks past office buildings at the central business district in Beijing on March 17, 2025. (AFP) 
A man walks past office buildings at the central business district in Beijing on March 17, 2025. (AFP) 

China wields significant policy room to stimulate its economy this year while some reform was needed to boost consumption, Huang Yiping, an advisor to China's central bank and a professor at Peking University, said on Wednesday.

China has unveiled fresh fiscal measures, including a rise in its annual budget deficit, to help hit an economic growth target of around 5% this year, which analysts have described as ambitious. The central bank has pledged to cut interest rates and pump more money into the economy at an appropriate time.

"There is still very big space in terms of macro policies," Huang told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual Boao forum.

Macro policies will help tackle cyclical problems, while some structural challenges could be resolved in the future, he said.

Some reform measures, including those to increase people's incomes and confidence, are needed to boost consumption, on top of recent moves unveiled by the government, Huang said.

Peng Sen, chairman of the China Society of Economic Reform, told the Boao Forum on Tuesday that China should take steps to boost consumption as a share of gross domestic product to 70% by 2035 from around 55% currently, narrowing the gap with developed nations.

Wider structural reforms include changes in institutional frameworks, income distribution, and fiscal and taxation systems will be needed to help boost spending, Peng said.

The Boao Forum, an international summit seen as Asia's version of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is being held in China's Hainan province from Tuesday through Friday.

Policymakers have put expanding domestic demand, especially consumption, as the top priority this year as they try to cushion the impact of the Trump administration's tariffs on its crucial export engine.

Huang also told the forum that globalization, which has benefited many Asian economies, could be reversed.

"Many of the most successful economies in the last half century or more, like East Asian economies - China and so on -all benefited from globalization, but there is certainly a risk that the US-led globalization may be reversed," Huang said.