Osborne spells out common themes in hitting G-20 goal

[SINGAPORE] The leaders of the Group of 20 (G-20, the world's 20 largest economies) aim to make concrete commitments on how they will spur growth in their countries when they meet in Brisbane in November, according to George Osborne, British Chancellor of the Exchequer, in a discussion with the media yesterday.

Mr Osborne was in Singapore en route from Sydney, where he attended the meeting of the G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors. One of the highlights of the meeting was a pledge by the grouping to "develop ambitious but realistic policies with the aim to lift our collective GDP by more than 2 per cent above the trajectory implied by current policies over the coming five years".

This would translate into a GDP boost of over US$2 trillion in real terms.