Report by Nazarena Lomagno, from China.- The head of the BRICS Development Bank, Dilma Rousseff, confirmed to the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, that the board of directors of the entity formally enabled the incorporation of Argentina to that financial institution to be voted at the next meeting of that entity, official sources from China indicated to Ambit.
This is a key decision for the country in many ways, especially due to the assistance in financial matters that Argentina will be able to access by joining the bank, and will take place at the next meeting of the New Development Bank (NBD) scheduled for the first week of August in South Africa.
To finalize its incorporation, the Brics bank – the group made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa- will receive a capital contribution from the Argentine State for $250 million in sovereign bonds held by the Treasury, coming from Guarantee and Sustainability Fund of ANSES and other channelsthey confirmed from the economic portfolio.
That figure means the 25% of the total of US$1,000 million in injection of funds that the financial entity will receive within a period of two months, since at the meeting in South Africa the incorporation into the NDB of three other countries: Saudi Arabia -whose financial assets are rated with the initials ‘AAA’, as those of the highest quality-Egypt and Zimbabwe.
Rousseff informed Massa of the news at the meeting they held at 9 a.m. (China time, 11 hours earlier than in Argentina) at the headquarters of the financial institution located in the Pudong neighborhood of Shanghai: the head of the economic portfolio arrived accompanied by the head of the BCRA, Miguel Ángel Pesce; and the national deputy and head of the Buenos Aires PJ, Máximo Kirchner.
The meeting was going to begin with a presentation by Massa about Argentina’s intention to manage some indirect financial support scheme from the Brics, but Rousseff friendly interrupted him to tell him that she had good news to tell him.
In addition, the former president of Brazil asked the Minister of Economy that, in her opinion, the inclusion of Argentina in the NBD was the most operative in the short term: “It is the fastest, to go straight to August”, were the words textual statements of the economist, according to what participants in the meeting told the press.
Rousseff’s intervention was not limited to transmitting the novelty but also advanced Massa, Máximo Kirchner and Pesce that the incorporation of Argentina to the Brics bank will be expressly postulated and defended by Brazil: the inclusion of the country will be debated by ‘ the rulers’ of the financial institution (ministers and heads of central banks) of all the members of the bloc: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Source: Ambito
