The Group of 20 meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors Friday and Saturday in Indonesia will focus on a bevy of issues around soaring prices, threats of more sovereign defaults, and engineering soft landings for economies still in Covid recovery mode.
Growth issues are high on the agenda for the G-20 meetings, with two of the six priorities addressing post-Covid exit strategies to support the recovery and scarring effects from the last crisis. A soaring debt pile of $237 billion due to foreign bondholders in notes trading in distress looms over a developing-market world that’s bracing for a potential domino effect of defaults. After Russia and Sri Lanka, Bloomberg Economics now sees five economies as most vulnerable to a default: El Salvador, Ghana, Egypt, Tunisia and Pakistan.
At stake are soaring oil prices and lingering trade jams stemming from Russia’s ability to choke up global energy supply. The gathering this week will feature a mix of those whose governments have spoken out against Russia and those who remain somewhat quiet in the face of stark economic realities.