In a commentary NTU’s RSIS Research Fellow Dr Jason Ji Xianbai said that despite the recent posturing by the IMF and the World Bank Group that they “stand ready to help” member nations deal with the economic challenge posed by the COVID-19, in reality, there is little such international economic institutions can do to help. This as they do not have the explicit mandate to simulate the world economy. Their goal is to guarantee long term growth instead of dealing with short term disruptions, he said.