13 June 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):
Zambia / AfDB Finance for Zambia’s Electric Power Project, African Press Organization, June 12, 2008 (APPA blog) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group on Thursday in Lusaka, signed US$ 1.2 million grant agreement with the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO).
Consultation Discusses Climate Change Strategies for the African Development Bank and World Bank, Climate-L, June 4, 2008 (Climate-L.org) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank jointly organized a fourth regional consultation to discuss their respective strategies on climate change.
Asian Development Bank (ADB):
Asian Development Bank pledges continued assistance for Afghanistan, The Earth Times, June 13, 2008 (The Earth Times website) - The Asian Development Bank said Friday that it has pledged up to 1.3 billion dollars in new assistance to Afghanistan in the next five years.
Asian Development Bank Drops "Clean Coal", by Kevin Grandia, Coal is Dirty, June 12, 2008 (Coal is Dirty website) - A small, but symbolic victory against the Clean Coal marketing efforts.
Auditing the ADB, Wall Street Journal Asia, June 12, 2008 (WSJ website) - In 2003, the Asian Development Bank's donor nations decided the bank needed to ensure the independence of its internal auditors. But it's only recently that the bank, which doled out more than $10 billion in loans last year, is getting serious about auditing reform.
Bank of the South:
Commodity tax proposed to fund "Bank of the South", by Ange Aboa, Reuters, June 11, 2008 (Reuters website) - Hosting a meeting of "G77" developing nations and China in the Ivorian capital, President Laurent Gbagbo said his plan would fund the worldwide expansion of a bank of the same name set up last year by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD):
The questions facing Europe’s development bank, by Jean Lemierre, Europe's World, June 9, 2008 (Europe's World website) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development was founded following the collapse of communism, and has turned out to be a resounding success. Jean Lemierre, who is stepping down after eight years as its president, urges the EBRD's shareholders to be true to its founding principles.
EBRD Targets 40% of Russian Lending to Infrastructure in 2008, by Paul Abelsky, Bloomberg, June 8, 2008 (Bloomberg website) - The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development expects to target about 40 percent of its lending in Russia this year to infrastructure as the nation overhauls its aging road and transport networks, President Jean Lemierre said.
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):
IDB approves US$13.2m urban development and environmental sanitation program in Brazil, Environmental Expert, June 9, 2008 (EnvironmentalExpert.com) - The Inter-American Development Bank has approved a US$13.2 million loan for the municipality of Belford Roxo under PROCIDADES, a lending mechanism that finances integrated development programs for Brazilian municipalities.
Jamaica Signs Agreement with IDB, Jamaica Information Service, June 7, 2008 (Government of Jamaica website) - Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, has signed a US$1.6 million grant agreement, with the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno, under the IDB's Programme to Implement the External Pillar of the Medium Term Action Plan for Development (PRODEV).
Food Crisis: Petition Paulson to Freeze Haiti's Debt Payments, Blog the Debt, June 6, 2008 (Jubille USA's blog) - While some Haitians are reportedly eating dirt to quell their hunger, their government is forced to pay almost $1 million each week in debt service to the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, both wealthy banks that were supposedly established to fight poverty.
International Monetary Fund (IMF):
Canada Names New International Monetary Fund Representative, by Greg Quinn, Bloomberg, June 12, 2008 (Bloomberg website) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper named a new representative for the country at the Washington-based International Monetary Fund.
IMF begins talks with Nicaragua on its national economy, China View, June 9, 2008 (China View website) - A special mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Monday began talks with the Nicaraguan government on its national economy.
Global Gold Diggers, Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2008 (WSJ website) - What if there was a global financial crisis and no one called the IMF? Even better, what if no one even noticed the International Monetary Fund wasn't there? We'd call it progress, and further evidence that the one-time financial ambulance service has outlived its usefulness.
World Bank:
Report on World Bank Sees Deregulation Bias, by Bob Davis, Wall Street Journal, June 13, 2008 (WSJ website) - The World Bank's flagship effort to encourage poor nations to slash business regulation is deeply flawed, the bank's in-house watchdog reported, reflecting a growing divide within the bank about how best to boost development.
India rejects World Bank funds to save tigers, by Nitin Sethi, Times of India, June 13, 2008 (TOI website) - In what would be seen a snub for the bank, the government feels that it has enough resources to tackle tiger conservation on its own and the Bretton Woods organization would not be able to provide any technical input that India cannot muster domestically.
Should the World Bank get the coal shoulder? by Kate Sheppard, Gristmill, June 11, 2008 (Grist website) - House ponders investment in multilateral clean tech fund; greens argue it isn't all that green.
Food Crisis Forces New Look at Farming, by Joel Millman and Roger Thurow, Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2008 (WSJ website) - Poor Nations, and Their Donors, Now Rethink Emphasis on Free Trade.
Food aid declines to near 50-year low, by Javier Blas, The Financial Times, June 9, 2008 (FT website) - Food aid volumes sank last year to their lowest level in almost 50 years as rising agricultural commodity prices – particularly for wheat, corn and rice – hit donors’ budgets, a United Nations report will say on Tuesday
Annual bank conference seeks to further global economic development, by Jade Davenport, Engineering News, June 9, 2008 (Engineering News website) - The much-anticipated World Bank-sponsored Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) was officially opened in Cape Town on Monday, with the objective of developing a new intellectual paradigm that would facilitate further global economic development and sustain globalisation.
World Bank’s 10-point plan for the food crisis, S. Venkitaramanan, The Hindu Business Line, June 9, 2008 (The Hindu website) - The global food crisis has been written about for months now. Local manifestation in the shape of food riots and political protests cannot eliminate the global cause of the problem.
World Bank approves $900 mln facility, The Sunday Times, June 8, 2008 (The Sunday Times website) - The World Bank Board of Directors on Thursday approved the $900 million-worth, Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Sri Lanka, a rolling four-year programme which starts in July 2008, on completion of the previous 4-year programme.