Weekly roundup: IFIs in the news

2 May 2008

This is a new feature from BIC! This "Weekly Roundup" is a compliation of select news articles, blogs or other media concerning the international financial institutions from the past week.

African Development Bank (AfDB):

• Former World Bank President James Wolfensohn in Tunis, African Press Organization, April 25, 2008 (APO-Source website) - The former World Bank President, Mr. Wolfensohn, gave a lecture in Tunis on the theme “Africa in a Global World: Partnerships for Success”, as part of the Bank Group’s Eminent Speakers Programme.

Asian Development Bank (ADB):

• ADB to discuss new strategy amid U.S. unease, by Yoo Choonsik, Reuters, April 30, 2008 (The Guardian website) - The Asian Development Bank will seek endorsement of a new strategy later this week as it faces calls to redefine its role in the world's fastest growing region and U.S. criticism of how it does its job.

• ADB to meet amid food crisis, growing poverty Agence France-Press, April 30, 2008 (MSN website) - The Asian Development Bank holds its annual meeting this weekend reeling from a global food crisis that has led to stinging criticism of its international governors for failing to see it coming.

• One billion Asians affected by surging food prices - ADB, Thomson Financial News, April 30, 2008 (Forbes website)

• Korea Seeks to Increase Role for Asia’s Development by Na Jeong-ju, The Korea Times, April 30, 2008 (Korea Times Website)

• ADB taking 'risks' with private equity by Hugh Williamson and Raphael Minder, Financial Times, April 28, 2008 (Finacial Times website) - The Asian Development Bank is taking "material risks" by investing more money in private equity funds, even though internal controls on such investments show "serious weaknesses", according to a confidential report by the Asian lender's evaluation unit.

• ADB lends $450 million for Indian power project, The Economic Times, April 25, 2008, (The Economic Times website) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has approved a loan amounting to $450 million to build a 4,000-megawatt, energy-efficient coal power plant in India.
• Asian Development Bank: Biofuels making food more expensive, CBS News, April 21, 2008 (CBS News website) - The Asian Development Bank says developed nations should stop paying agricultural subsidies to encourage biofuel production because the payments are making staple foods more expensive.
• ADB to Promote Clean Energy through Private Equity Funds, Daily Mirror, April 21, 2008 (Daily Mirror website) - Using upto $100 million in seed capital, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is helping to establish five private sector funds with a total target investment of upto $1.2 billion in clean energy projects in Asia.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD):

• EBRD to invest in Kazakh private equity fund, Reuters, April 29, 2008 (Reuters website) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) plans to invest up to $94 million into a Kazakh state-controlled private equity fund, the bank said.

• EBRD plans to spend EUR 250mn in region, B92, April 20, 2008 (B92 website) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) looks set to start a EUR 250mn credit line for the Western Balkans.

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):

• IDB approves US$250m for water and wastewater services in Brazil Environmental Expert, May 1, 2008 (Environmental Expert website) - The Inter-American Development Bank approved US$250 million in financing for Sabesp, the water and wastewater company of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, to support its capital investment program.

• US activist Jesse Jackson urges Haiti debt relief by Joseph Guyler Delva, Reuters, April 29, 2008 (Reuters website) - Jackson said Haiti owed the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank about $1.5 billion, with debt service payments reaching some $70 million a year.

• Food vs fuel debate changes biofuel financing-IDB by Andrei Khalip, Reuters, April 22, 2008 (Reuters website) - The heated global food-versus-fuel debate has changed the way the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) evaluates financing of biofuel projects that could siphon off staples like corn or soybeans

International Monetary Fund (IMF):

• IMF staff buyout draws more interest than expected, by Lesley Wroughton, Reuters, April 28, 2008 (Reuters website) - Around 600 International Monetary Fund employees have requested buyouts under a plan aimed at cutting 380 jobs, officials said on Monday.

• Africa: Will the New IMF Programme Help Or Hurt Africa's Chances of Meeting Poverty Goals, The Namibian, April 28, 2008 (AllAfrica.com website) - Under fire from both rich and poor countries for its strict policies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched a new programme, called a Policy Support Instrument (PSI) in 2005, as a "non-financial mechanism."

• The IMF's dwindling fortunes by Mark Weisbrot, Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2008 (Los Angeles Times website) - Thanks to disasters of its own making, the agency is losing money and influence.

• IMF bid to help Africans on food prices , by Krishna Guha, Financial Times, April 25, 2008 (Financial Times website) - The International Monetary Fund is in talks with 10 mostly African countries over a possible increase in financial support to help deal with balance-of-payments and fiscal problems caused by high food prices.

• IMF praises 'bold' Palestinian economic reforms, Reuters, April 25, 2008, (The Guardian website) - The International Monetary Fund praised the Palestinian government's "bold" economic reforms, but said further headway was hobbled by border restrictions and failure to advance a peace deal with Israel.

• IMF in talks with 10 countries on food aid, Reuters South Africa, April 24, 2008 (Reuters website) - The International Monetary Fund is in talks with governments in 10 countries, mostly in Africa, about increasing financial assistance to cover rising global food prices.
• Could IMF Have Prevented This Crisis? by Hector R. Torres, The Korea Times, April 24, 2008 (The Korea Times website) - Until recently, the International Monetary Fund's main job was lending to countries with balance-of-payment problems. Today, however, emerging countries increasingly prefer to "self-insure" by accumulating reserves (and sharing them through regional pooling arrangements).

World Bank:

• INTERVIEW-World Bank ties Zimbabwe help to policy shift by By Charles Mangwiro, Reuters, April 30, 2008 (Reuters website) - International donors are ready to help Zimbabwe's ailing economy recover as soon as the government proves it is committed to economic and social change, a World Bank official said on Wednesday.

• UN and World Bank say to tackle food crisis, by Laura MacInnis, Reuters April 29, 2008 (Reuters website) - U.N. agencies and the World Bank pledged on Tuesday to set up a task force to tackle an unprecedented rise in global food prices that is threatening to spread social unrest.

• World Bank launches new assistance strategy for Ethiopia, ReliefWeb, April 29, 2008 (ReliefWeb website) - The World Bank today launched a new Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Ethiopia. The strategy covers the period July 2008 – June 2011 and aims to help Ethiopia sustain its strong performance in economic growth and basic service delivery in recent years.

• Corporate Vultures Lurk Behind the World Food Crisis by Anuradha Mittal, Alternet, April 29, 2008 (Alternet website) - The IMF, WTO and the rest of the neoliberal world are still pushing more trade as a cure for what ails us.

• Senior World Bank officials meet PM, Maoist leadership Kantipur Online, April 29. 2008, (Kantipur website) - Visiting senior World Bank officials assured Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and the Maoist leadership that the monetory body would continue to extend assistance for hydropower development in Nepal.

• World Bank Says Israeli Restrictions Stifle Palestinian Economy by Robert Berger, Voice of America, April 27, 2008 (VOA website) - A report by the World Bank says the Palestinian economy will not grow this year, despite billions of dollars in international aid. The bank blamed the problem on Israeli restrictions on Palestinian movement and trade.

• HIV/AIDS: World Bank Pays Tanzanians for Safe Sex, International Political Economy Zone, April 25, 2008, (IPE blog) - The fight against HIV/AIDS takes a novel turn in this latest effort by the World Bank in Tanzania: The Bank is performing a pilot study on whether economic incentives contingent upon not testing positive for various STDs can be a way to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.