8 August 2008
The "Weekly Roundup" is a compilation of select news articles, blogs or other media concerning the international financial institutions from the past week.
Asian Development Bank:
NTPC, ADB, GE Energy join hands for renewable power generation, August 5, 2008 (The Hindu Business Line website) - State-run NTPC Ltd, Asian Development Bank (ADB), GE Energy Financial Services, Kyushu Electric Power Co and Brookfield Renewable Power will form a joint venture company to undertake renewable power generation, an official statement said on Tu esday.
Bangladesh to get $170 mln ADB loan for food, August 4, 2008 (Reuters website) - Bangladesh will receive a $170 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to cope with rising prices, particularly of food, the bank said on Monday.
African Development Bank:
ADB calls for alternative fuel-producing crops, Xinhua, August 5, 2008 (China View website) - Promoters of bio-fuels need to come up with second and third generation energy crops that will not compete with food crops, African Development Bank (ADB) president Donald Kaberuka has said.
AfDB and Zambia Sign US $500000 Flood Relief Grant Agreement, August 1, 2008 (All Africa website) - The African Development Bank President, Donald Kaberuka, on Friday in Lusaka signed an agreement for a grant of US$ 500,000 to help provide relief to victims of recent flash floods in Zambia.
Banco del Sur:
Development banking: Chávez leads rival to IDB, By Jason Mitchell, August 6, 2008 (EuroMoney Magazine website) - A new development bank for South America, called Banco del Sur, spearheaded by Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavéz, should be set up within months, after the region’s economy ministers decided that each member state would have one vote on the board.
Etapa de definiciones en torno al Banco del Sur, by María José Romero, August 1, 2008 (El Economista de Cuba website) en español, El Banco del Sur es uno de los tres soportes de la nueva arquitectura financiera regional en Sudamérica, junto a un Fondo del Sur y a una Unidad Monetaria Sudamericana.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development:
EBRD is ready to endorse new frames of financing for non-bank institutions in transition countries, August 1, 2008 (Azerbaijan Business Center website) - The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) has started discussing a programme of new frames of financing for non-bank institutions from transition countries (ETC Non-Bank Framework III).
Inter-American Development Bank:
Brazil: Development Bank Makes Largest Loan Ever for Biofuel Project, By Joel dos Santos Guimarães, August 6, 2008 (Brazzil Magazine website) - The Inter-American Development Bank is going to loan US$ 269 million and to help raise another US$ 379 million for three new ethanol mills in the center-south of Brazil, in the largest biofuel investment ever made by a development bank.
Project finance: Record financing for Peruvian LNG project, by Chloe Hayward, August 6, 2008 (EuroMoney Magazine website) - The financing for Peru’s biggest ever project is in the final stages after a $3.8 billion package was signed last month.
IDB President to Visit Nicaragua, August 1, 2008 (Prensa Latina website) - Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Luis Alberto Moreno, of Colombia, will visit Nicaragua on August 4, according to sources from the sector.
International Monetary Fund:
Turk minister: IMF no substitute for reformist govt, Reuters, August 7, 2008 (The Guardian website) Turkey's economic success depends on having a reformist government rather than on any IMF programme, state Anatolian news agency quoted Economy Minister Mehmet Simsek as saying on Thursday.
Turkey and IMF expected to start studies on the new deal on August 8, August 3, 2008 (Hurriyet website) - Turkey and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are expected to start the works on the details of the precautionary stand-by deal on August 8 after the Fund has finalizes its assessment on the post-program studies and the report, state-run Anatolian Agency reported on Sunday.
IMF boss hails relations with Mauritania as excellent, August 3, 2008 (African Press International website) - The Director General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr. Dominique Strauss Kahn on Friday in Nouakchott described relations between Mauritania and the Fund as an example to be followed by other countries.
World Bank:
Privatisation and the World Bank, By Fozia Akhtar, August 7, 2008 (The Daily Star website) - Whatever else one may say about the World Bank, its mantra is certainly uncomplicated: privatise, privatise, privatise. In a world of cynicism and shattered faith, it is almost reassuring to have such a powerful institution that maintains the same line for decades.
WB should change tack in war on poverty, By Dr Macharia Waruingi and Jean Njoroge, August 7, 2008 (Business Daily Africa website) - For many years, the World Bank Group has implemented policies for economic development in African countries. The policies are geared towards creating good governance and improving investment climates.
World Bank acknowledges W. African gas pipeline flaws, By Friday Olokor, August 7, 2008 (Daily Champion website) - Civil society activists in Nigeria are welcoming the World Bank’s acknowledgment of a series of damaging mistakes during the building of the World Bank-financed West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) running from Nigeria through Benin, Togo, and Ghana.
New World Bank Loan Agreements Signed with Nicaragua, By Kathy Shandling, August 4, 2008 (MaximsNews website) - The World Bank signed two new loan agreements with Nicaragua. These agreements will seek to support the country’s efforts to improve the access of water and sanitation services in rural areas of the country and to enhance the business climate for micro, small, and medium enterprises.
World Bank Approves US$1.1 Billion Program for Growth, Fiscal Sustainability and Social Development for Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, August 3, 2008 (InfoZine website) - World Bank Group approved a two-tranche Development Policy Loan totaling US$1.1 billion for the Rio Grande do Sul Fiscal Sustainability Program.
The World Bank’s International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes rules in favour of Tanzanian people, August 1, 2008 (Eurodad website) - The UK water company Biwater has failed in its bid to claim up to US$20 million in damages from the Tanzanian government following the collapse of a controversial water privatisation contract in 2005.
World Bank unit taps growing solar market, By Lesley Wroughton, August 1, 2008 (Reuters website) - A World Bank investment in a Russian polysilicon producer this week will help expand supplies of the key ingredient used to make solar cells and bring down costs of solar energy, an official said on Friday.
India Gets $521 Million World Bank Funding for Polio, Malaria, By Jason Gale, August 1, 2008 (Bloomberg website) - India was given almost $521 million of funding from the World Bank to fight infectious diseases, including polio and malaria, which kill thousands of people in the South Asian nation and risk spreading overseas.