IMF defends Asia actions

IMF defends Asia actions

WASHINGTON (Reuters): The International Monetary Fund defended
its policies towards Asia's tiger economies on Thursday, saying
that the costs would have been higher and the slowdown faster if
the IMF had not got involved.

IMF First Deputy Managing Director Stanley Fischer told
bankers that the world's major industrialized nations were well
positioned to cope with the fallout of the crisis. The text of
his speech was made available ahead of delivery.

Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea have already received
billions of dollars from the IMF, and Fischer said IMF reform
programs were aimed to restore confidence in falling currencies,
partly by raising interest rates. "Once confidence is restored,
interest rates can fall," he said.

He said higher interest rates would inevitably slow economic
growth, but said things would have been worse without help from
the IMF, the World Bank and IMF member states.