时事资讯:中国率先购买500亿美元IMF债券

【英文原文】

China Set To Buy $50 Billion In IMF Notes

China is, as expected, on track to become the first purchaser of notes issued by the International Monetary Fund, a move that would diversify its foreign asset holdings and could give the IMF's quasicurrency more clout.

The IMF on Wednesday said China has signed an agreement to purchase approximately $50 billion in notes from the fund. The notes are denominated in Special Drawing Rights, a quasicurrency issued by the fund and promoted by China as a potential replacement for the dollar as the world's reserve currency.

The agreement, announced in July, is the first of its kind for the fund and marks China's most visible step toward moving its investment focus away from the U.S. Treasurys market. It gives the IMF about a quarter of the $250 billion capital increase needed to fight the global financial crisis.

Countries including Brazil, Russia and India also have expressed interest in purchasing IMF notes, whose issuance is meant to bolster the fund's lending capacity and help fulfill a G-20 pledge to strengthen the Fund's own capital position.

A Treasury spokesman had no comment.