13 February 2009
Read all the headlines concerning the international financial institutions from the past week.
African Development Bank:
African Development Bank doubles funding to Uganda, February 13, 2009 (APA) - The African Development Bank has doubled its funding to the Uganda government in the current financial year to accelerate development, Investments Minister Ssemakula Kiwanuka said on Friday. He said the funding has risen from $465 million in the previous year to $996 million in the current financial year.
Asian Development Bank:
ADB to provide US$ 106 million for the Green Power Development Project, February 13, 2009 (BBS) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will be providing over US$ 106 million for the Dagachhu Hydropower and Rural Electrification projects under the Green Power Development Project. An agreement to this effect was signed today.
ADB annual meeting to be held in Bali, Indonesia, February 11, 2009 (The Hindu) - The 42nd annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will be held in Indonesia's resort island of Bali from May 2 to 5, 2009, local media Wednesday quoted an official from the ADB as saying.
PM approves renewable energy, power projects, February 10, 2009 (Viet Nam News) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Friday gave the nod for a US$205 million project to develop renewable energy and upgrade networks supplying power to remote areas around the country.
ADB extends $31-million loan to RP for energy-efficient project, by Ted P. Torres, February 8, 2009 (PhilStar) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will extend a $31.1-million loan to the Philippines to establish an energy-efficient project, including the distribution of 13 million compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). The loan will have a 25-year repayment period and an interest rate determined in accordance with the bank’s Libor-based lending facility.
Two-year term extension for ADB vice-president, February 9, 2008 (The Financial) - Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Directors has extended the term of Vice-President Lawrence Greenwood, Jr. by two years to 27 February 2011.
Inter-American Development Bank:
Another institution wrestles with $2 billion in losses, by Marcus Stern, February 12, 2009 (ProPublica) - The Inter-American Development Bank, which has been making loans to Latin American and Caribbean countries for the past 50 years, has taken a $1.9 billion hit in its investment portfolio since the financial crisis began 18 months ago.
International Monetary Fund:
IMF mulls new council to empower emerging nations, by Lesley Wroughton, February 13, 2009 (Reuters UK) - International Monetary Fund member countries, keenly aware of the need to give emerging nations more say in running the global economy, are considering a new policy-setting council that would more accurately reflect their rising economic clout.
UK's Brown-IMF, World Bank are not fit for purpose, by Sumeet Desai, Febryary 9, 2009 (Reuters UK) - The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are not fit for purpose and need to change dramatically in the wake of the worst financial crisis in living memory, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday.
World Bank:
World Bank to boost lending to Philippines - govt official, by Manolo Serapio Jr. and Kazunori Takada, February 12, 2009 (Reuters India) - The World Bank is planning to boost loans to the Philippines by up to $1 billion a year from 2009 until 2012 despite banning several firms which the banks said rigged bidding for a roads project, a top government official said on Thursday.
World Bank board approves extra seat for Africa, February 11, 2009 (IC Publications) - The World Bank said Wednesday that its board of governors had approved an extra board seat for Sub-Saharan Africa, tipping the developing world into a board majority as part of institutional reforms.
GMA House allies blame WB for bid rigging mess, by Jess Diaz and Delon Porcalla, February 10, 2009 (PhilStar) - Administration lawmakers have turned the tables on the World Bank and other international lenders, saying their rejection of a cap on the cost of foreign-assisted projects has spawned corruption.
World Bank spent more than a year covering up destruction of Albanian village, by Richard Behar, February 9, 2009 (Fox News) - Managers at the World Bank provided false information to the agency's board of directors about a $39 million, politically-connected European "coastal cleanup" project that led to the destruction and destitution of a powerless village in Albania in 2007 — and then spent nearly two years trying to cover it up, FOX News has learned.
No reforms, no loans, World Bank tells government, by Roderick T. dela Cruz, February 9. 2009 (Philippine News) - The World Bank wants a “substantive reorganization” of the Department of Public Works and Highways as a pre-condition for its continued lending for the last stage of the controversial National Roads Improvement and Management Program.