‘Fruitful’ Talks Touted Even as Divisions Mar G-20 Finance Meet

(Bloomberg) -- The Group of 20 host nation opened the final day of meetings among finance chiefs touting “fruitful” talks, though divisions exposed throughout the gatherings and developments in Washington underscored the hurdles they face in tackling the global economy’s myriad of risks.

Officials have been downbeat on prospects for a conference-ending communique given disagreement over some of the top agenda items including the causes and solutions to the commodity-price crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Focus has turned instead at the meetings in Bali, Indonesia, to avenues for supporting the most vulnerable -- including through bolstering food security and raising alarm over sovereign default risks.

“It is important that we remain focused on what we have planned to achieve this year, as this will also send a positive message to the global community on the G-20’s role and efforts to support global recovery,” Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said Saturday during opening remarks for the second and final day of official meetings.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati gave no answer when asked whether the meeting would yield a communique, and instead said there’s been “a lot of successful achievements actually.” She pointed to the more than $1.1 billion global health crisis fund and an IMF deal to help middle-income countries deal with the impact of the pandemic and the food and fuel crises.

An oil-price cap initiative to mitigate global inflation while punishing Russia over what she calls “horrific consequences” of the war in Ukraine has been top-of-agenda for US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, but a non-starter for others like China and India. All country representatives reportedly remained in the room when Russian officials spoke on the first day, in contrast to an earlier G-20 gathering that featured a US-led walkout.

Developments overnight in Washington provided a hurdle to Yellen’s push on a second priority -- securing more momentum for a global tax deal that last year brought together almost 140 countries to establish a 15% global corporate tax minimum rate. Many participants in the negotiation have met political challenges in implementation, most notably the US Congress, where a member of the president’s own party has now delayed a crucial vote.

Other issues to watch on the final day of official meetings:

• Warjiyo highlighted areas of progress, including the Financial Stability Board’s work toward setting a roadmap for climate risks
• An FSB statement this week sets out how crypto assets, including stablecoins, could pose a threat to global financial stability. The recent crash in the value of stablecoins such as Terra have led global regulators to call for more oversight to keep the meltdown from contaminating other assets
• Policymakers met over breakfast to discuss climate change mitigation and will be busy with closed-door gatherings until a final host-country press conference scheduled for the afternoon

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