Mexico's president says could use IMF funds to repay debt

MEXICO CITY- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday that his administration could use funds disbursed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to pay off debt.

The IMF said on August 2 that its board of governors approved a $650 billion allocation of IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR) and said its largest-ever distribution of monetary reserves would become effective Aug. 23. 

Speaking at a regular news conference, Lopez Obrador said Mexico should receive around $12 billion from the IMF. Still, it was unclear if those funds could be used to repay debt.

The IMF SDR plan will distribute reserves to all 190 member countries in proportion to their ownership, with the lion's share going to G20 countries, which include Mexico.

SDRs are the IMF's unit of exchange, made up of dollars, euros, yen, sterling and yuan. To spend them, countries must arrange an exchange for underlying currencies.

(Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Ana Isabel Martinez Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) ((anthony.esposito@tr.com; +5255 5282 7140;))