The world's
20 major economies are nearing an agreement to revive the global economy by
enlarging the International Monetary Fund and cracking down on tax
havens.
Officials attending a Group of 20 summit in London Thursday say
member states have agreed to give the IMF $500 billion in extra money to help
countries worst hit by the global crisis.
British Finance Secretary
Stephen Timms says Group of 20 leaders also are expected to agree on sanctions
against countries that provide tax havens to the wealthy.
France and
Germany have led calls to crack down on tax havens that they say allow wealthy
people to avoid paying their fair share at a time of growing economic
hardship.
Officials say the G20 also are close to agreement on raising
funds to support global trade, which has declined due to a lack of credit for
settling transactions.
Group of 20 leaders did not discuss Russian and
Chinese proposals for a new global currency system that reduces the dollar's
supremacy in financial affairs.
Russian officials quote President Dmitri
Medvedev as saying the currency proposals should be discussed in the months
after the G20 summit.
The United States and Britain have said the Group
of 20 should agree on more government spending to spur economic growth. But,
France and Germany have pushed to make tighter financial regulations the primary
focus.
The G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Britain, the United States and the European
Union.
Some information for this report was provided
by AFP, AP and Reuters.