By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Group of 20 major economies is likely to extend a freeze in debt service payments on official bilateral debt for the world’s poorest countries beyond the end of 2020, the World Bank’s new chief economist said on Friday.
Carmen Reinhart, a former Bear Stearns executive who started her new job on June 15, said the health and economic crisis triggered by the novel coronavirus was more severe and taking longer to overcome than initially expected.
She said it was “highly probable” that G20 finance officials would agree to extend the offer to freeze debt service payments, which is due to expire at the end of 2020, but she was not certain if that would happen when they meet online on Saturday.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
