Members of the International Monetary Fund
on Tuesday approved a broad expansion of investment practices as part of an
overhaul of how the crisis lender acquires income, dpa
reported.
The IMF Board of Governors voted overwhelmingly for the new investment
strategy, which includes creating an endowment from the sale of more than 400
tons of gold reserves, worth more than 11 billion dollars. The US Congress must
still approve the transaction.
With this decisive endorsement, the fund's members have once
again demonstrated their support for reforming key components of the
institutions framework, including its financial structure," IMF Managing
Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in a statement.
The IMF has until now relied primarily on income from its lending operations,
but reduced demand for its loans from developing countries has led to a
400-million-dollar budget shortfall.
Strauss-Kahn said the new measures, which also include cutting spending by
about 13.5 per cent over the next three years, would put the IMF's finances on
a "sustainable footing" for the future.
Last month, the board approved a long-awaited reform of the IMF's voting
procedures, giving developing countries a small increase in influence.