Weekly roundup: IFIs in the news
30 May 2008
The "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):
ADF Approves US$ 15 Million Supplementary Loan to Fund Nouakchott Water Supply Project, Panafrican Press Association, May 29, 2008 (APPA website) - The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group, approved on Wednesday in Tunis, a supplementary loan of 9.46 million Units of Account* (US$ 15 million) to finance supply of drinking water from Senegal River (Aftout Essaheli) to Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania.
Asian Development Bank (ADB):
The Asian Development Bank abandons Asia's poor, by Isabel Ortiz and Anita Kelles-Viitanen, The Daily Star, May 24. 2008 (The Daily Star website) - More than half of Asia's population - 1.8 billion people - live on less than $2 a day; more than 600 million of them try to survive on less than $1 a day. With food prices now soaring, most of Asia's "working poor," who are already struggling on degraded lands, in sweatshops, on streets and at homes, risk further destitution.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD):
Looking to the EBRD's Future, Wall Street Journal Asia, May 28, 2008 (WSJ website) - The EBRD's focus today is fostering stability in the countries of the Balkans, Georgia and the other countries of the Caucasus, and Central Asia; and in helping countries such as Ukraine and Russia to stay the course as a market-oriented economy that is nurturing the kind of middle class that strengthens democracy and economic growth.
EBRD focuses on global economic woes at Kiev meeting, Monday Morning, May 26, 2008 (Monday Morning website) - Bank president Jean Lemierre presented his last conference after eight years in charge of the bank, which was formed in 1991 to help former communist states in Europe and Central Asia adopt market economies.
EIB enters EU top job reshuffle, Euractiv, May 26, 2008 (Euractiv website) - European Investment Bank (EIB) President Philippe Maystadt could find that his term comes to an early end as the race for the EU top jobs heats up and member states seek to achieve a new balance of power.
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):
IADB offers $500 mln to ease pain of food prices, by Adriana Garcia and Missy Ryan, Reuters, May 27, 2008 (Reuters news) - The Inter-American Development Bank will offer Latin American and Caribbean countries $500 million in loans to help them cope with soaring food prices, bank officials said on Tuesday.
IDB Approves $100 Mil Loan, by Tameka Lundy, The Bahama Journal, May 23, 2008 (The Bahama Journal website) - The Bahamas has secured another multimillion-dollar loan from the Inter American Development Bank [IDB] to support an effort already underway to readjust the road network in New Providence and deal with mounting traffic congestion, the bank announced on Thursday.
International Monetary Fund (IMF):
Harsh internal IMF audit calls for 'major changes', Agence France-Press, May 28, 2008 (Google News website) - Internal auditors at the International Monetary Fund released a harshly critical report on governance Wednesday and urged "major changes" to maintain the embattled institution's relevance.
IMF appoints MIT's Blanchard as chief economist, Reuters, May 27, 2008 (The Guardian website) - The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that Olivier Blanchard would become its chief economist as of Sept. 1, replacing Simon Johnson, who announced his resignation this month.
As Global Wealth Spreads, the IMF Recedes, by Anthony Faiola, Washington Post, May 24, 2008 (Washington Post website) - The economy here turned as hot as the local pepper soup earlier in the decade, with soaring global demand for the nation's riches -- gold, cocoa and bauxite -- sparking a rush to modernize Ghana's decaying roads, rails and power grid. But when the government hatched a plan last year to rebuild the national infrastructure by selling $750 million worth of bonds, its minders at the International Monetary Fund balked.
IMF hikes loans to Kyrgyzstan amid food price rise, Reuters, May 22, 2008 (Reuters website) - The International Monetary Fund has agreed to double lending to the central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan to $18 million to help with the effects of high food prices, a spokesman said on Thursday.
World Bank:
World Bank pledges $1.2 billion to battle food crisis, CNN International, May 29, 2008 (CNN website) - The World Bank is making $1.2 billion available in grants and loans to combat the global food crisis, including $200 million for those most at risk in the world's poorest countries.
World Bank to lend $440 million to China's energy sector, Calgary Herald, May 29, 2008 (Calgary Herald website) - The World Bank is planning three energy-sector loans to China totalling $440 million, about a third of its budgeted 2008 lending to the country.
World Bank fund to improve the ageing dam network in Sri Lanka, Asian Tribune, May 29, 2008 (Asian Tribune website) - World Bank has granted US $ 65.33 million for a project to improve dam safety and operational efficiency of the ageing dam network in Sri Lanka.
World Bank to Raise $5.5 Billion for Climate Funds (Update1), by Yuji Okada and Shigeru Sato, Bloomberg, May 25, 2008 (Bloomberg website) - The World Bank will raise at least $5.5 billion with the U.S., U.K. and Japan this year for climate change funds that will help poor nations use clean technology and tackle global warming, its vice president said.