Wow ~ IMF elevates China to #3 role on Board ...
China, other major emerging powers will get a bigger role on IMF's governing board
The International Monetary Fund says that China and other major emerging economic powers will get a bigger role on the fund's governing board.
IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn announced the structural reforms after a Friday meeting of the IMF's board.
It elevates China's voting power above traditional major IMF European powers such as Germany, Britain and France.
China would become the third most powerful IMF member, outranked only by the United States and Japan.
"New changes in the global economy will now be reflected in changes in the Fund," Strauss-Kahn told reporters.
"This historic agreement is the most fundamental governance overhaul in the Fund's 65-year history and the biggest ever shift of influence in favor of emerging market and developing countries to recognize their growing role in the global economy," said Strauss-Kahn, the IMF's managing director.
The U.S. retains a 17 percent voting stake in the IMF, effectively giving it veto power because major decisions require an 85-percent majority to pass.
The IMF also announced reform of the governing board's membership, expanding its top tier from five to 10.
Currently, there are five countries that essentially make up the top group in the IMF's 24-member Executive Board as they are always represented: the U.S., Japan, Britain, France and Germany. This group is now expanded to 10 with the addition of China, India, Brazil, Italy and Russia.
Nov. 4, 2010
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