Weekly roundup: IFIs in the news
23 May 2008
This is a new feature from BIC! This "Weekly Roundup" is a compilation of select news articles, blogs or other media concerning the international financial institutions from the past week.
African Development Bank (AfDB):
Bright future for African coal-AfDB, by Wendell Roelf, Reuters, May 23, 2008 (The Guardian website) - Coal production in Africa will increase at an average of three percent a year to 2011, on rising demand especially from Asia, a senior African Development Bank official forecast on Friday.
Turkey 25th member of African Development Bank, Hürriyet, May 23, 2008 (Hürriyet website) - Turkey has become the 25th non-African member of the African Development Bank, officials of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday, the Anatolian Agency reported.
Africa: Continent Seeks to Address Food Crisis, All Africa, May 22, 2008 (All Africa website) - African Finance ministers tasked the management of the African Development Bank (AfDB) with the development of a paper exploring options to address the current food shortages in Africa that is also a global crisis, at their meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, last week.
ADB-IFAD Consultations Open in Tunis, by Samuel Ampah, The Ghanaian Journal, May 22, 2008 (The Ghanaian Journal website) - High-level consultations on increased cooperation between the African Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development opened in Tunis today.
Asian Development Bank (ADB):
ADB May Support Needs Assessment After Cyclone In Myanmar, Bernama, May 21, 2008 (Bernama website) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is exploring the possibility of providing experts to conduct an on-the-ground assessment of post-cyclone rehabilitation and reconstruction needs in Myanmar, Xinhua news agency quoted the bank as saying on Thursday.
ADB approves $US11 million for Nuku'alofa reconstruction, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, May 21, 2008 (ABC website) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an $US11 million grant for the reconstruction of Nuku'alofa.
Bank urges private capital for Asian development, International Construction Review, May 19, 2008 (Icon website) - Infrastructure spending in South Asia should be close to US$100 billion a year, more than twice what it is now, the Asian Development Bank has told the region’s finance ministers.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD):
EBRD Forever?, Wall Street Journal Asia, May 23, 2008 (WSJ website) - At its annual meeting in Kiev this week, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development -- founded in 1991 to assist the former Soviet bloc states -- confirmed that, among other things, it wants to explore projects in Turkey.
EBRD pledges more investment, Kyiv Post, May 22, 2008 (Kyiv Post website) - More than 4,100 top European bankers and investors gathered in Ukraine’s capital on May 18 and 19 for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) annual Board of Governors meeting, a decade after its first Kyiv meeting.
EBRD/World Bank urge policy steps to boost investments in Ukraine’s agriculture, The Financial, May 21, 2008 (The Financial website) - The EBRD and the World Bank called on May 20 for new government policies to help boost investment in agriculture in Ukraine and so unlock the huge potential the country has to increase farming output.
EBRD appoints new president, Australia signals exit, Agence France-Press, May 19, 2008 (AFP website) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development appointed Germany's Thomas Mirow as president on Monday while shareholder Australia said it would quit as the EBRD's work was nearly done.
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):
IADB highlights small hydro potential for Latin America, International Water Power and Dam Construction, May 22, 2008 (Water Power Magazine website) - While the 6,450MW Madeira scheme makes further progress in Brazil, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has highlighted the growing prospects of small hydro amongst renewable energy projects in Latin America over the next few decades.
The Inter-American Development Bank Awards a $2.7 Million Grant to Endeavor for Its Work in Latin America, The Earth Times, May 19, 2008 (The Earth Times website) - The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) awarded a $2.7 million grant to Endeavor in support of its work with high-impact entrepreneurs in Latin America. This is the second grant Endeavor has received from the IDB.
International Monetary Fund (IMF):
Sticking to IMF policies and poverty; enemies of democracy in Nigeria, by Okello Oculi, Daily Nation, May 23, 2008 (Nation Media website) - Nigeria’s leaders must not continue to allow policies inherited from the IMF/World Bank consensus to drive democracy out of their politics.
New Paraguay government doesn't plan to renew IMF loan option, Associated Press, May 22, 2008 (International Herald Tribune website) - Paraguay's incoming government plans to drop its loan option with the International Monetary Fund, the future economy minister said Thursday.
India blames World Bank, IMF for food, fuel crisis, The Hindu, May 21, 2008 (The Hindu website) - Firmly rejecting the contention that rising consumption in developing nations was responsible for the soaring food and fuel prices, India has blamed the policies of World Bank and IMF and "excessive and unsustainable" demand in developed countries for the crisis.
World Bank:
On the poverty line: Has “a dollar a day” had its day? The Economist, May 22, 2008 (The Economist website) - In December 2007 the World Bank unveiled the results of the biggest exercise in window shopping in history. Scouts in 146 countries scoured stalls, supermarkets and mail-order catalogues, recording the price of more than 1,000 items, from 500-gram packets of durum spaghetti to low-heeled ladies' shoes.
World Bank chief says agency must recast mission, Reuters Africa, May 22, 2008 (Reuters website) - World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Thursday the global development institution needs to adapt its mission to more effectively deal with global economic changes, in particular the rising influence of emerging powers.
World Bank Watchdog Faults Anti-Graft Effort, Washington Post, May 22, 2008 (Washington Post website) - The World Bank's effort to combat corruption in poor countries has "rarely succeeded," according to a report by the lender's internal watchdog.
World Bank won't lend to Myanmar, cites old debts, Associated Press, May 20, 2008 (International Herald Tribune website) - A top World Bank official says the bank won't give financial aid or a loan to cyclone-hit Myanmar because of its outstanding debts.
World Bank to continue its support to Orissa, The Hindu, May 20, 2008 (The Hindu website) - Despite taking serious exception to reports of irregularities in implementation of the health development project in Orissa, the World Bank has pledged to fund the state's development projects.
Anger over climate change loans, by Roger Harrabin, May 18, 2008 (BBC website) - Development campaigners have accused the UK government of making a stealth cut to an £800m fund designed to help poor countries adapt to climate change.
UK demands repayment of climate aid to poor nations, by John Vidal, May 17, 2008 (The Guardian website) - Britain's £800m international project to help the poorest countries in the world adapt to climate change was under fire last night after it emerged that almost all the money offered by Gordon Brown will have to be repaid with interest.
Bangladesh to get $400 mln World Bank loan for power, Reuters, May 17, 2008 (The Guardian website) - Bangladesh will get $400 million loan from the World Bank for its power sector, a senior official said on Saturday