Antigua to seek IMF, Chinese economic aid

posted: 72 DAYS 10 HOURS AGO

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ST JOHN'S, Antigua -The prime minister of financially struggling Antigua and Barbuda says his government will seek help from the International Monetary Fund to close a budget deficit despite political opposition over concerns about international interference in the local economy.

Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer told parliament Tuesday the government has a budget deficit of more than $100 million and it will only get worse if they do not seek international assistance. He said the country also will be asking China for aid or loans but has otherwise exhausted its options.

Antigua recently secured $50 million in grants and loans from the Venezuelan-led ALBA trade bloc to help pay wages of public employees.

Spencer said negotiations with the IMF on loan terms would begin within weeks.

The country's financial troubles have deepened in recent months because of a sharp decline in its key tourism industry and from the collapse of R. Allen Stanford's Antigua-based financial empire.

The Texas financier helped fund the government and was one of the country's largest employers until U.S. authorities accused him of defrauding thousands of investors in his offshore bank. He is awaiting trial in the United States.

The main opposition Antigua Labor Party has come out against IMF borrowing, fearing the international organization could force the country to privatize state-owned enterprises or adopt other unpopular economic austerity measures.

2009-09-16 16:54:10