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Lagarde to seek second term at International Monetary Fund

China’s economic transition-from investment and manufacturing to services and consumption-is manageable, while better policy communication is needed, International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde said on a panel in Davos, Switzerland.

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Lagarde told France 2 television on Friday that she wanted to continue as the head of the organisation.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde’s term expires on July 5.

Last month judges placed her under formal investigation over her alleged role in the long-running scandal over a large state payoff to former Adidas boss and politician Bernard Tapie.

A tough negotiator and determined consensus-builder, Lagarde did not hesitate to cross swords with the very officials she worked closely with in her previous job, even criticizing her successor as finance minister, Pierre Moscovici, of being asleep during one crisis meeting.

“I’ll be waiting before I say anything about that”, she said.

The Chancellor, as the UK’s IMF Governor, has written to the Secretary formally nominating Christine Lagarde for a second term as Managing Director. After a review of the candidates, the International Monetary Fund executive board aims to have decided on a candidate by March 3. Developing countries have increasingly opposed this informal arrangement. She is the first woman to lead the Washington-based institution. The IMF chief’s lawyer described the decision as “incomprehensible” and said Lagarde will appeal the decision.

At a briefing in Davos, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls added an apparent message of support for Lagarde after being asked whether France backed her reappointment.

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On Wednesday the French press reported that Paris could support Ivory Coast-born French banker Tidjane Thiam as a replacement if she were not to run.

Christine Lagarde to run for second IMF term