The International Monetary Fund believes that emerging countries will become the next victims of the credit crisis and is trying to force through a rescue package within a week to allow such economies to swap their own currencies for US dollars.

While Wall Street has speculated that the swap facility could be worth $1 trillion (£620 billion), the IMF has not detailed the size of any rescue package. IMF economists fear that countries such as Pakistan will experience the same drying up of credit facilities that has hit America and Britain.

Opening swap lines gives emerging nations’ central banks greater ability to lend to their local commercial banks and get US dollars circulating in overnight and short-term money markets. For many countries, the issue is that the markets have malfunctioned so severely that they cannot quickly access capital that they need.

The IMF is believed to be reluctant to use its funds to bail out economies that are badly run or dangerously weak; rather it is trying to assist fundamentally healthy countries experiencing short-term funding problems.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the IMF, said yesterday that Pakistan had formally requested financial assistance and talks on a loan programme would begin soon.

Belarus is also seeking a loan, believed to be $2 billion, with a visit from IMF executives scheduled in a few days as emerging markets are hit by fears of a deep global recession.

The IMF issued a warning yesterday that the credit crisis will hit the growth of sub-Saharan Africa this year and next, and will push inflation to 12 per cent.

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