IMF approves reforms to boost voice of China
(AP)
Updated: 2006-09-18 21:16
SINGAPORE - The 184-nation International Monetary Fund on Monday approved reforms to increase the voice of emerging economies China, South Korea, Turkey and Mexico to reflect their growing economic sway, delegates said.
The move, the first part of a two-phase plan, aims to boost the credibility of the IMF, which six decades after its founding is facing criticism for giving the US and other Western powers too much influence.

The IMF, threatened with redundancy, wants to carve out a new role for itself as global economic policeman but Asian nations oppose any move by the institution to meddle in their affairs. [AFP]
The Washington-based IMF works to promote global economic stability and provide emergency loans to members in crisis - akin to a financial firefighter.
Voting shares in the IMF matter because they affect countries' say in the decisions of the Washington-based institution and how much they can borrow from the fund.
"(The) 90.6 percent approval is an important and very good result," said German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck. Other delegates confirmed the news.
The proposal needed to win 85 percent of the vote.
"For institutions like the IMF to continue to be relevant they have to change with the economy," US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said before the results were announced.
The reform measure was the most important agenda item on IMF's annual meeting, held in Singapore along with its sister institution, the World Bank, which lends money to countries to fight poverty.
Within two years, the IMF plans to a second step that will overhaul the voting structure of all member nations.
When the IMF was founded in 1945, it focused on the needs of the United States, Europe and Japan. Over time, the importance of emerging economies has grown. The reforms seek to redress these changes.
Argentina, Brazil, some other South American countries and some North African countries voted against the proposal, Steinbrueck said.
Opponents argued that the reforms should include all members and be implemented in one step. They also said they were doubtful that wealthy member nations are willing to see their voting shares reduced at a later stage.
The weight of each nation's vote is tied to its quota, or financial commitment to the institution. Quotas are determined by the size of their economies and currency reserves as well as openness to trade and capital flows.
The US vote, for example, is about 17 percent of the total and Japan has 6.1 percent, while European nations together account for about a third. Argentina has a voting share of 0.99 percent, while the Pacific island nation of Palau has 0.01 percent.