Proposal for SDRs worth US $ 650bn submitted to IMF’s Board of Governors for approval

A press statement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board yesterday said on July 9, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva submitted her proposal for a general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) equivalent to US $ 650 billion to the Board of Governors for its approval.

The proposal follows the Executive Board discussion of the general allocation of SDRs on June 25 and its formal support of the proposal on July 8.

The Board of Governors is scheduled to vote on the proposal by August 2. 

Approval of the general allocation of SDRs requires support by members representing an 85 percent majority of the total voting power of SDR Department participants (currently all IMF members).

Once approved, the allocation is expected to be implemented by end-August (during the current Eleventh Basic Period).

Against this background, in a separate report to the Board of Governors, the Managing Director indicated to the Board of Governors that she is not proposing an additional allocation at this point for the next Twelfth Basic Period covering from January 2022 to December 2026. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka last week said it expected to take receipt of US $ 780 million as SDR allocation from the IMF based on the 0.12 percent quota assigned for Sri Lanka out of the general allocation of US $ 650 billion available for all member countries in support of minimisng pandemic-induced stresses on their external sectors.