Risks to world economy to be focus for G7 finmins -Canada official

OTTAWA, May 13 (Reuters) - The health of the world economy
is expected to be a major focus at the upcoming meeting of Group
of Seven finance ministers, given the increasing number of risks
to growth, a senior Canadian official said on Friday.
The topic of international tax evasion and avoidance is also
likely to be prominent in the wake of the so-called "Panama
Papers", the Finance Department official told reporters.
Policymakers will begin the G7 meeting in Sendai, Japan next
week with a discussion of the key risks to the global economic
outlook and what policy mix is the right one to bolster growth.
While some, including the International Monetary Fund, have
called for countries to take more fiscal action rather than
relying on central bank policy to stimulate growth, some
countries have argued they do not have the room to take such
measures.
Canada's new Liberal government unveiled a stimulus budget
earlier this year that included infrastructure spending to boost
growth and Finance Minister Bill Morneau is expected to tout a
growth agenda and encourage his G7 peers to focus on investment,
the official said.
Canada could find an ally on this in the United States,
though other countries at the table will also likely be
sympathetic, the official said.
The possibility that Britain could vote in a referendum next
month to leave the European Union will also likely be discussed.
A vote to leave would have significant implications for Britain,
the EU and the world economy but it is difficult to know exactly
what the impact would be ahead of time, the official said.
As for movements in the foreign exchange markets, the
official said he did not expect that to dominate the discussion
as G7 members have been clear about the importance of not
manipulating currencies.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said earlier on Friday it
was important for G7 economies to reinforce pledges to refrain
from competitive currency devaluations at their meeting next
week.