Aurelia Butler

MARRAKECH, Morocco (Reuters) -International Monetary Fund countries on Saturday failed to agree on a U.S.-backed plan to boost IMF funding without giving more shares to China and other big emerging markets, but pledged a “meaningful increase” in lending resources by year-end.As IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Morocco closed, a statement from IMF’s steering committee chair called for new quota contributions that would “at least maintain the Fund’s current resource envelope” as $185 billion worth of bilateral borrowing arrangements expire.Quotas, contributed by member countries in proportion to their shareholding, make up only about 40% of the IMF’s roughly $1 trillion in lending firepower, and the Fund says a larger proportion of quotas would provide more lending certainty as economic shocks grow. CHINA PUSHBACKThe U.S. Treasury plan for countries to contribute new quota funds in proportion to their current shareholdings — unchanged since 2010 — had won support from G7 countries, India and a number of other emerging markets.China, whose economy is now three times the size it was in 2010, continued to push for more IMF shares. People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng said in a statement to the IMFC meeting that Beijing wanted both a quota increase and a realignment of shares “to reflect members’ relative weights in the global economy, and strengthen the voice and representation of emerging markets and developing countries.”IMFC members agreed to add a third IMF Executive Board chair to represent African countries, a key sweetener for the U.S. “equi-proportional quota plan. Pan said China supported this move but it was a separate issue from the shareholding formula.The IMFC chair’s statement left the door open to a possible adoption of the U.S. money now-shares later plan, noting that “transitional arrangements” may be needed. It also called for the IMF’s Executive Board to propose options for changes to the shareholding formula by June 2025.This would accelerate the next five-year review of quotas and meet IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva’s call for a deadline on adjusting its shareholding to preserve its credibility.A U.S. Treasury official told reporters that despite no firm agreement, there was good progress on the quota issue, with countries talking through their positions and a deal “increasingly likely” by October.WAR CLOUDSForging a deal to boost the IMF’s $1 trillion in lending firepower to enable it to respond to another large scale economic crisis was one of the biggest tasks for Georgieva at the meetings in the desert tourist hub of Marrakech overshadowed somewhat. The IMFC’s chair, Spanish economy minister Nadia Calvino, said members were again unable to reach consensus on a joint communique amid disagreements over conflict language, despite many member countries condemning both Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the killing of civilians in both Israel and Gaza.But the week was overshadowed by the growing conflict between Israel and Gaza, and Georgieva closed the event with an ominous warning that it was adding to global economic uncertainty.”I can say the shock people have felt, it came in our meetings,” Georgieva said, noting that these sentiments shifted from attacks on “innocent civilians” in Israel to “the necessity to now find ways to prevent the loss of civilian lives in Gaza.””What we see, of course, is a recognition that this is yet another source of uncertainty,” she said, adding that much would depend on its scope and duration.The World Bank’s governing body also was unable to issue a joint communique, though it noted in a statement Development Committee Chair United Arab Emirates that “most members” supported G20 leaders’ language on the war in Ukraine.The Development Committee formally endorsed the World Bank’s new vision “to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet,” aimed at expanding its mission to climate change, pandemics, fragile states and other global challenges. More

LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) – Palestinian militant group Hamas uses a global financing network to funnel support from charities and friendly nations, passing cash through Gaza tunnels or using cryptocurrencies to bypass international sanctions, according to experts and officials.However, Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, will face even more obstacles accessing funds after the rampage by the group’s gunmen that killed hundreds of Israelis, mainly civilians. Israel has responded with the heaviest bombardment of Gaza in 75 years of conflict.Earlier this week, Israeli police said they froze a Barclays bank account the authorities said was linked to Hamas fundraising and blocked cryptocurrency accounts used to gather donations, without specifying how many accounts or the value of the assets.The move provided a glimpse of a complex financial web, some legitimate, much hidden, that underpins Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, and its government in the Gaza Strip, which it has run since 2007.Matthew Levitt, a former U.S. official specialised in counterterrorism, estimated the bulk of Hamas’ budget of more than $300 million came from taxes on business, as well as from countries including Iran and Qatar or charities.Last February, the State Department said that Hamas raises funds in other Gulf countries and gets donations from Palestinians, other expatriates and its own charities.Reuters was unable to reach Hamas officials for comment for this story. In the past, Hamas has said financial restrictions placed on its donors were an attempt to neutralise legitimate resistance against Israel.Hamas, sanctioned as a terrorist organization by the United States and countries such as Britain, had increasingly used cryptocurrencies, credit cards or contrived trade deals to avoid mounting international restrictions, Levitt said.”Hamas has been one of the more successful users of crypto for the financing of terrorism,” said Tom Robinson, co-founder of blockchain research firm Elliptic.However, this year Hamas said it would back away from crypto, after a spate of losses. Cryptocurrency’s ledger system can make such transactions traceable.Blockchain researchers TRM Labs said this week in a research note that crypto fundraising has previously increased following rounds of violence involving Hamas. After fighting in May 2021, Hamas-controlled crypto addresses received more than $400,000, TRM Labs said.However, since last weekend’s violence, prominent Hamas-linked support groups had moved just a few thousands dollars through crypto, TRM noted.”One likely reason for the low donation volume is that Israeli authorities are targeting them immediately,” TRM said, adding that Israel had seized cryptocurrency worth “tens of millions of dollars” from Hamas-linked addresses in recent years.Between Dec. 2021 and April this year, Israel seized almost 190 crypto accounts it said were linked to Hamas.SHIPS AND SHELLSWhether through crypto or other means, Hamas’ allies have found ways to get money to Gaza. The U.S. State Department has said that Iran provides up to $100 million annually in support to Palestinian groups including Hamas, and has cited methods of moving the money through shell companies, shipping transactions and precious metals. Iranian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.By last year, Hamas had established a secret network of companies managing $500 million of investments in companies from Turkey to Saudi Arabia, the U.S. Treasury has said, announcing sanctions on the firms in May, 2022.Israel has long accused Iran’s clerical rulers of stoking violence by supplying arms to Hamas. Tehran, which does not recognise Israel, says it gives moral and financial support to the group.Backing the Palestinian cause has been a pillar of the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution and a way for the country to fashion itself as a leader of the Muslim world. Gas-rich Qatar too has paid hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza since 2014, at one point spending $30 million per month to help operate the enclave’s sole power plant and to support needy families and public servants in the Hamas-run government. “Qatari aid provides 100 dollars to the poorest Palestinian families and extends the period of electricity during a day in Gaza,” a Qatari official said in response to a request for government comment, adding that it had helped “maintain stability and quality of life for … Palestinian families”.Qatar walks a foreign policy tightrope, hosting the region’s largest U.S. military base, the Taliban and other groups, often allowing it to mediate.CASH RULESQatar’s funding for Gaza actually passes through Israel, a source familiar with the process said. The funds are transferred electronically from Qatar to Israel. Israeli and U.N. officials hand-carry cash over the border to Gaza.The cash is distributed directly to needy families and public servants in Gaza and each family or individual must sign next to their name that they’ve received the cash. One copy of that sheet goes to Israel, one goes to the UN and one goes to Qatar.”Qatari aid to the Gaza Strip is fully coordinated with Israel, the UN and the U.S.,” the Qatari government official said.In recent years, Qatar bought fuel from Israel for Gaza’s sole power station. It also sent Egyptian fuel that Hamas can resell, using the proceeds for salaries. Stephen Reimer of the think tank, Royal United Services Institute, predicted fresh attempts to fully restrict the group’s access to formal financial channels would have limited success. “Their financing tactics have grown to circumvent these.” More

(Reuters) -Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani has informed the Glazer family that controls Manchester United Plc that he will not improve on his bid to acquire the iconic soccer club for more than $6 billion, people familiar with the matter said.The move leaves the remaining bidder for Manchester United, Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe, in a stronger position. He has offered to buy only a 25% stake in the club, allowing some of the Glazers to cash out, and it remains unclear whether he will clinch an agreement.The exact value that Ratcliffe’s bid infers on Manchester United could not be learned, but the sources said it was higher than Jassim’s offer of more than $6 billion. Manchester United is currently valued by the stock market at $3.3 billion. Jassim, who had also promised to invest more than $1.7 billion in Manchester United after he acquired it, still wants a deal but has informed the Glazer family that there is no point in remaining in the bidding process following nine months of unsuccessful negotiations, the sources said.Jassim would not have used any debt to acquire Manchester United and his bid would have paid down the club’s existing debt pile, which net of cash totals more than $600 million, the sources added.The sources asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Representatives for Jassim declined to comment while Manchester United and Ratcliffe representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sky News reported earlier on Saturday that Jassim was withdrawing from the bidding process.The Glazers’ valuation expectations have been aggressive based on other soccer deals. Last year, the $3.1 billion acquisition of Chelsea Football Club by an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital valued it at 5.7 times revenue for its last financial year.Valuing Manchester United more than Jassim’s bid, at $7 billion for example, would be equivalent to 11 times the club’s revenue over the last 12 months, according to LSEG data.The Glazer family, which made its fortune in real estate, retail and healthcare and also owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, bought the team for 790 million pounds ($960 million) in 2005. The six descendants of Malcolm Glazer, who died in 2014, together control 96% of Manchester United’s voting stock.The club announced in November 2022 that the Glazers were exploring cashing out on their ownership. Record 20-time English champions, Manchester United has over 650 million fans worldwide, according to market research firm Kantar. A large number of them have been clamouring for a change of ownership.That is because the Glazers have overseen a significant downturn in the club’s fortunes, with the club winning just the last of their 20 top-flight titles in former manager Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge in 2012-13.Manchester United won the League Cup under Erik ten Hag this season, but their third-place finish in the league, 14 points behind local rivals and treble winners Manchester City, underscores the scale of the turnaround required. More

A statement issued by the Fund’s steering committee chair, Spanish economy minister Nadia Calvino, also called for proposals to change the Fund’s shareholding formula by June 2025. The statement did not specify any funding amounts but left the door open to a potential near-term funding increase without changes in near-term shareholding. “In order to maintain the Fund’s current resource envelope until a quota increase becomes effective, we call on the Executive Board to propose transitional arrangements,” the statement said. More