Weekly roundup: IFIs in the news

9 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):

• African Dev. Bank pledges $1 bln more in food aid, Reuters, May 2, 2008 (Guardian website) - The African Development Bank pledged $1 billion more for food aid as soaring commodity prices raise fears of famine, and it urged grain-exporting countries not to restrict shipments.

Asian Development Bank (ADB):

• ADB likely to go the dinosaur way, warns US, by The Economic Times, May 7, 2008 (The Economic Times website) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) runs the risk of becoming obsolete if it persists with policies such as lending heavily to countries with huge currency reserves like India and China, a US official said on Tuesday.
• Dar proposes ADB to allow flexibility in implementing the Strategy 2020, Associated Press of Pakistan, May 7, 2008 (APP website) - Minister for Finance, Economic Affairs, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar has called upon Asian Development Bank (ADB) to allow flexibility in implementing the Strategy 2020.
• ADB divisions emerge over capital, by Raphael Minder, May 6, 2008 (Financial Times website) - The Asian Development Bank could be forced to halve its lending for projects in Asia from 2010 as its shareholders engage in a contentious debate over a proposal to double the $56bn in capital it has available.
• Asian Development Bank mulling response to Myanmar cyclone, The Economic Times, May 6, 2008 (The Economic Times website) - The head of the Asian Development Bank on Tuesday expressed his condolences to Myanmar over the country's devastating cyclone, and said the institution would decide how best to respond.
• Donors pledge $11.3 bln to ADB to tackle poverty, Reuters India, May 3, 2008 (Reuters website) - Donors to the Asian Development Bank have pledged $11.3 billion for the four years 2009 to 2012 to replenish the multi-lateral body's key poverty alleviation fund for Asia's poorest countries.
• Asian Development Bank Audit Reveals Fraud in Afghanistan Projects, Government Accountability Project (GAP), May 1, 2008 (Commondreams website) - The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is drawing attention to a recent PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) audit of the Asian Development Bank’s work in Afghanistan, which indicates mismanagement, incompetence, deception of donors, and fraud. News of this audit comes at a time when the Bank is appealing to donors for additional contributions of $12 billion for projects and loans.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD):

• Food prices a worry as EBRD meets -Lemierre, Reuters, May 6, 2008 (Guardian website) - High food prices and inflation are a challenge to growth in central and eastern Europe, but sensible investment can alleviate some of those pressures, the head of the region's development bank said.
• EBRD says Turkey has applied to be country of operation, Reuters, May 2, 2008 (Guardian website) - Turkey has applied to become one of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's countries of operation, which would enable its private sector companies to benefit from investment by the development bank.

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):

• Banking Official Chosen for Haiti Post Brotherly Love blog, May 5, 2008 (Blogger website)

International Monetary Fund (IMF):

• A tale of two worlds, The Economist, May 9, 2008 (Economist website)
• Resenting Austerity, Turks Want No New IMF Deal, Reuters, May 8, 2008 (New York Times website)
• IMF warns on global inflation, by Krishna Guha, Javier Blas, Chris Giles, Ralph Atkins, May 8, 2008 (Financial Times website)
• Former IMF Chief De Rato Says Global Credit Crisis Nearing End by Cherian Thomas and Naga Munchetty, Bloomberg News, May 4, 2008 (Bloomberg website) - Former International Monetary Fund head Rodrigo de Rato said the worst of the credit crisis is over and that the recent strengthening of the dollar is justified.
• No US economic recovery this year: IMF chief, Agence France-Press, May 3, 2008 (AFP website) - International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Friday that he does not see the US economy recovering from its current doldrums this year.

World Bank:

• World carbon trading value doubles, by Fiona Harvey, May 8, 2008 (Financial Times website)
• Uganda: World Bank Loans At $1.2b by Mary Karugaba, All Africa, May 6, 2008 (allAfrica.com website) -The World Bank loan portfolio to Uganda reached $1.2b as of March.
• World Bank to give $350m for development of 24 Punjab cities, By Sajid Chaudhry, Daily Times, May 6, 2008 (Daily Times website) - The World Bank will provide $350 million for the development of five large and 19 small cities of Punjab and a loan agreement is expected to be signed in September, World Bank Senior Infrastructure Specialist Mihaly Kopanyi said.
• World Bank, IFC Seek Investors in Off-Grid Africa by Abid Aslam, Inter Press Service News, May 5, 2008 (IPS website) - An international campaign to bring modern lighting to one-fourth of Africa's people enters a new phase with talks to draw investors to markets beyond the reach of the continent's outdated power grid.
• South African "Scorpions" boss to join World Bank, Retuers, May 5, 2008 (Reuters website) - The head of South Africa's Scorpions crime-fighting unit, Leonard McCarthy, was appointed on Monday to head the World Bank's anti-corruption unit.
• World Bank To Provide $206 Million More For Cyclone-Hit Areas Of Bangladesh by Siddique Islam, All Headline News, May 4, 2008 (AHN website) - The World Bank (WB) is likely to provide $206 million more for rehabilitation projects in the cyclone-hit southwestern coastal areas of Bangladesh, officials said.