IMF to seek KSA contribution RIYADH – International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde is likely to discuss a contribution from the Kingdom to the IMF's $500 billion fundraising effort to fight the European debt crisis when she visits Riyadh Friday, reported Zawya Dow Jones Thursday. “It's all going to be how she presents the case,” one Saudi familiar with some of the deliberations told Zawya Dow Jones. Lagarde is due in Saudi Arabia Friday and Saturday, after a stop in Tunisia. Last month, the IMF said it is seeking $500 billion in new lending capacity in order to help cope with the effects of Europe's debt crisis. Members of the euro zone have said they will contribute about $200 billion, and the IMF is hoping for contributions from China, Brazil, India and other large emerging nations. Over the past two weeks, prominent Saudis have for the first time indicated publicly the Kingdom might be willing to give money - but with some strings attached. “What we can be certain of is that large developing nations will not agree to provide additional funds without a greater say in the IMF's affairs, and this applies to all global economic governance organizations,” Prince Turki Al-Faisal, a former Saudi ambassador to the US and UK, told an audience in Riyadh late last month. The economy of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf is insulated from a direct hit if Europe's financial crisis does deepen, some economists say.
