Paris Club of creditors discloses IOU list

Posted on Wednesday, 11.26.08
Paris Club of creditors discloses IOU list
The Associated Press

PARIS -- The Paris Club of creditor nations disclosed Wednesday for the
first time how much it is owed and by whom - with emerging giants China
and India high on its list of debtors.

In a statement on its Web site, the Paris Club said it is owed a total
of $330 billion. The Paris Club released the figures ahead of an
international development conference in Doha, Qatar, this week.

The group said the gesture was meant to "enhance transparency on debt
data and to encourage all creditors, in particular major developing
countries' creditors, to engage in a comprehensive debt reporting and
disclosure process."

The publication comes as nations rich and poor are seeking ways out of
the global economic crisis, and many are pressing China to use its $1.9
trillion in reserves for a global bailout fund.

About a third of the Paris Club debt is owed by large developing
economies, with China owing $27.2 billion and India owing 18.9 billion.
Indonesia is the biggest debtor, at $36.2 billion, followed by Cuba at
$29.7 billion.

It was the first time the Paris Club has published such figures since
the informal group of lending nations was formed 50 years ago. It has 19
permanent members.

The Paris Club said it planned to cancel some $31 billion of the claims
owed by heavily indebted poor countries that carry out recommended
economic reforms.

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