Bahrain’s Shura Council yesterday (March 5) approved amendments to an existing law, which would allow the Kingdom to have a greater stake in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

They have already been approved by parliament and will now be referred to His Majesty King Hamad.

If the amendments go through, Bahrain would get more Special Drawing Rights (SDR) at the IMF, which in turn will give it a bigger say in voting on international monetary and economic policy reforms.

Council foreign affairs, defence and national security committee secretary Nancy Khadoury said that Bahrain's current share in the SDR stood at 135 million units, which was around 0.073 per cent of all shares.

'If the amendments are approved, then Bahrain would be getting 176.4 million units, which is an increase of 41.4 million units,' Khadoury said.

'It will give Bahrain more power in SDR up to 0.1 per cent, which is a bigger say in the IMF's voting in international monetary and economic policy reforms.

'Bahrain's share payments to the IMF will be done 25 per cent from its SDR and 75 per cent using bonds saved in the Central Bank of Bahrain under the direct control of the IMF, not Bahrain's government,' she added.

The amendments would affect an existing law passed to allow Bahrain to have a stake in the IMF. – TradeArabia News Service