DUSHANBE, September 21, 2010, Asia-Plus -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced 8 billion U.S. dollars in new loan resources for poor nations hit by the global financial and economic crisis.

The IMF said it had signed financing agreements with Japan (nearly US$2.7 billion), the United Kingdom (some US$2 billion), France (some US$2 billion) and China (some US$1.2 billion) to fund the new loan resources.  The agreements were signed in early September.

The new loan capabilities represent about half of the resources the IMF said it would be seeking for bilateral loans for low-income nations.  The announcement is part of a larger program that includes gold sales to boost concessional lending up to $17 billion through 2014.