Remittances to lower income countries ease in 2022: World Bank

WASHINGTON, United States - Cash transfers to low- and middle-income countries eased this year, with rising prices taking a toll on migrants' incomes, the World Bank said Wednesday.

Remittances to lower-income countries rose around five percent to $626 billion, lower than the 10.2 percent jump in 2021, the bank added in a report.

While the reopening of economies as the pandemic receded helped with employment, rising costs "adversely affected migrants’ real incomes," the Washington-based development lender said.

And in 2023, the increase of such remittance flows is projected to slow further to two percent, as GDP growth in wealthier countries moderates.

"Downside risks remain substantial, including a further deterioration of the war in Ukraine, volatile oil prices and currency exchange rates, and a deeper-than-expected downturn in major high-income countries," said the World Bank in its report.

Meanwhile, rising oil prices and continued demand for migrant workers boosted remittances to Central Asian countries, while the ruble's appreciation against the US dollar translated into higher value of outward transfers.

But in Europe, a weaker euro had the opposite effect, the report said.

In Ukraine, remittance growth is pegged at two percent, lower than earlier estimates "as funds for Ukrainians were sent to countries hosting them, and hand-carried money transfers likely increased," the bank added.

Meanwhile, India is on track to receive over $100 billion in yearly remittances in 2022.

Agence France-Presse

UN, World Bank urge schools to remain open amid pandemic

UNITED NATIONS, United States - The UN and World Bank pleaded in a new report Wednesday for schools to remain open despite Covid-19 risks, highlighting the damage the pandemic has inflicted on children's education, especially in poor nations. 

Children in impoverished countries have been deprived of close to four months of schooling since the pandemic began early this year, while pupils in rich nations benefiting from remote learning have lost six weeks, the report said. 

"Prioritizing reopening schools and providing much-needed catch-up classes are critical," said Robert Jenkins, education chief at the UN children's fund UNICEF. 

"We don't need to look far to see the devastation the pandemic has caused to children's learning across the world," he added in a statement.

The devastation has been magnified in low- and middle-income nations, where there has been a lack of access to distance learning, higher chances of delays for school reopenings and fewer resources to mitigate health risks.

UN cultural agency UNESCO and the World Bank also said it is essential for countries to invest immediately in school systems to reduce the widening gap between the education provided in poor and rich countries because of the pandemic.

The report from UNICEF, UNESCO and the World Bank was based on information collected from nearly 150 nations between June and October.

Agence France-Presse

Debt of poorest countries hit record $744 billion in 2019: World Bank

WASHINGTON - The debt of the world's poorest countries hit a record $744 billion in 2019 prior to the coronavirus pandemic but debt relief is lagging, the World Bank said Monday in a report that singles out China.

The Washington-based development lender's data show debt for the 73 poorest nations grew 9.5 percent year-on-year, which shows "an urgent need for creditors and borrowers alike to collaborate to stave off the growing risk of sovereign-debt crises triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic."

Business shutdowns and border closures to stop the spread of COVID-19 beginning in March have devastated economies worldwide, and in April, the G20 group of large economies endorsed a debt suspension for the world's poorest countries.

World Bank President David Malpass said relief has been weaker than expected because "not all of the creditors are participating fully," with only $5 billion granted under the expected $8 to $11 billion.

The report, released as the World Bank begins its annual meetings along with the IMF, said the debt burden of the poorest countries owed to government creditors, most of whom are G20 states, reached $178 billion last year.

China is the largest creditor, seeing its share of debt owed to all G20 countries rise to 63 percent by the end of last year from 45 percent in 2013.

Malpass decried what he called a lack of participation by private sector creditors but also warned wealthier countries were not doing their full share.

"Some of the biggest official bilateral creditors, including some from China, are still not participating in the moratorium. And that creates a major drain on the poorest countries," he told reporters in a conference call.

Malpass again urged the need for transparency on the terms of the debt, in a reference to China, who he said in some cases have rescheduled debt principal but continues to take interest payments which could "add to the debt burden rather than relieving it."

Agence France-Presse

Pope steps up call for poor country debt cancellation

VATICAN CITY, Holy See - Pope Francis renewed a call on Tuesday for the cancellation of debt owed by poor countries in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it was time for restorative justice.

The pope is preparing for an audience with the public on Wednesday, his first since the pandemic hit Italy nearly six months ago.

"I repeat my call for the cancellation of the debt of the most vulnerable countries, in recognition of the severe impact of the medical, social and economic crises they face as a result of COVID-19," the Roman Catholic Church's highest official said.

"We also need to ensure that the recovery packages being developed and deployed at global, regional and national levels must be regeneration packages.

"It is a time for restorative justice."

In April, the Argentinian-born pontiff called for debt to be reduced or cancelled in a message from an empty Saint Peter's Basilica.

On Tuesday he said: "Policy, legislation and investment must be focused on the common good and guarantee that global social and environmental goals are met."

The World Bank warned last month that coronavirus may have driven as many as 100 million people into extreme poverty.

The situation made it "imperative" that creditors reduce the amount of debt held by poor countries, the Washington-based institution's president David Malpass warned.

Advanced economies in the Group of 20 have already committed to suspending debt payments from the poorest nations until the end of the year.

There is growing support for extending that moratorium into next year amid a pandemic that has already killed more than 840,000 people and registered 25.2 million cases globally.

Agence France-Presse

World Bank sees 'huge willingness' to suspend debt payments for poorest countries

WASHINGTON -- The World Bank is seeing "a huge willingness" on the part of official bilateral creditors to suspend debt payments by the world's poorest countries so they can focus on fighting the coronavirus pandemic, a top Bank official said on Monday.

World Bank Managing Director Axel van Trotsenburg said the Group of 20 major economies and the Group of Seven (G7) had been largely supportive of a call by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund for a temporary halt in debt payments.

"Everybody understands that we need to help the poorest countries. There is a huge willingness - as in nobody is questioning that, absolutely nobody," he told Reuters in an interview. "I think we are in a good place to move forward."

Finance officials from the G7 and G20 countries are due to discuss the debt relief issue this week. Three sources familiar with the process said details were still being finalized, but they expected the G20 countries to back a suspension of debt payments at least until the end of the year.

World Bank President David Malpass said last week he expected a "broad endorsement" of the proposal by the 25-member joint Development Committee of the World Bank and IMF on Friday.

The World Bank and the IMF have begun disbursing emergency aid to countries struggling to contain the virus and mitigate its economic impact. They first issued their call for debt relief on March 25, but China - a major creditor - and other G20 nations have not formally endorsed the proposal.

The IMF announced on Monday a first round of debt relief grants to 25 of its poorest member countries, including Afghanistan, Mali, Haiti and Yemen.

The funds will cover those countries' debt service payments to the Fund for the next 6 months, but the IMF is pushing donor countries to more than double the $500 million available in its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust so it can extend the debt relief for a full two years.

The IMF-World Bank push for broader bilateral debt relief won significant backing over the past week, including from Pope Francis and the Institute of International Finance (IIF), which represents over 450 global banks, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds.

The two institutions are urging China and other big creditors to suspend debt payments from May 1 for International Development Association (IDA) countries that are home to a quarter of the world's population and two-thirds of the world's population living in extreme poverty. With a combined gross domestic product of around $2 trillion, those countries face official bilateral debt service obligations of $14 billion through the end of 2020, the World Bank estimates.

The World Bank has already approved $2.1 billion in emergency funding for 32 countries to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, with decisions on 40 more expected this month.

Van Trotsenburg said it was crucial that commercial creditors also provide debt relief for the poorest countries, which have also seen massive outflows of capital and a sharp drop-off in remittances by citizens living overseas.

"This is a global problem affecting everybody. Unless everybody acts, it will not add up," van Trotsenburg said. "That means every institution has the obligation to see what can it mobilize to the best of its ability, and to be fast."

IIF President Tim Adams said official bilateral debt relief could be provided relatively quickly but that it would take longer to provide commercial debt relief given the lack of details and oversight about who exactly holds all the debt.

Van Trotsenburg said it was also important to ensure that unsustainable debt levels not impede the poorest countries' movement toward more sustainable development, when asked about the need for a broader round of debt restructuring.

Adams said that discussion was premature, with circumstances and needs varying widely from country to country. But he said the crisis highlighted the need for greater transparency about lending to poor countries by China and others.

-reuters-

World Bank approves $500 million loan for Philippines to fight COVID-19

MANILA -- The World Bank said Friday it approved a $500 million (P25.2 billion) loan to the Philippines to help the Southeast Asian nation fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The financing is part of the Washington-based lender's $14-billion fast-track package to help nations deal with the disease that has killed tens of thousands around the world.

"The World Bank is committed to supporting efforts to strengthen the Philippines’ capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters as well as health and economic shocks like COVID-19," said Achim Fock, World Bank Acting Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.

"Natural disasters and pandemics disproportionately hurt poor families and communities. Enhancing risk management and the capacity to address these challenges can help ensure that the Philippines can sustain progress in poverty reduction," he said.

The $500 million loan is part of a broader package that aims to help the Philippines build disaster resilience, the World Bank said.

As of Thursday, the Philippines confirmed 4,076 COVID-19 cases including 203 deaths and 124 recoveries. Luzon, home to half of its 100 million population, is on lockdown until April 30 to fight the spread of the disease.

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COVID-19 cases and deaths rising, debt relief needed for poorest nations: WHO

GENEVA -- The head of the World Health Organization voiced deep concern on Wednesday about the rapid escalation and global spread of COVID-19 cases from the new coronavirus, which has now reached 205 countries and territories.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that his agency, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund backed debt relief to help developing countries cope with the pandemic's social and economic consequences.

"In the past five weeks there has been a near-exponential growth in the number of new cases and the number of deaths has more than doubled in the past week," Tedros told a virtual news conference at the organization's Geneva headquarters.

"In the next few days we will reach 1 million confirmed cases and 50,000 deaths worldwide," he said.

China, where the coronavirus outbreak first emerged in December, reported dwindling new infections on Wednesday and disclosed for the first time the number of asymptomatic cases, which could complicate how trends in the outbreak are read.

Asked about the distinction, Dr. Maria ver Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist who was part of an international team that went to China in February, said the WHO's definition included laboratory-confirmed cases "regardless of the development of symptoms".

"From data that we have seen from China in particular, we know that individuals who are identified, who are listed as asymptomatic, about 75 percent of those actually go on to develop symptoms," she said, describing them as having been in a "pre-symptomatic phase". The new coronavirus causes the respiratory disease COVID-19.

The outbreak continues to be driven by people who show signs of disease including fever and cough, but it is important for the WHO to capture that "full spectrum of illness", she added.

Tedros praised India's $22.6 billion economic stimulus plan - announced after a 21-day lockdown imposed last week - to provide free food rations for 800 million disadvantaged people, cash transfers to 204 million poor women and free cooking gas for 80 million households for the next 3 months.

"Many developing countries will struggle to implement social welfare programs of this nature," he said.

"For those countries, debt relief is essential to enable them to take care of their people and avoid economic collapse. This is a call from the WHO, the World Bank and IMF - debt relief for developing countries," he said.

But debt relief processes are lengthy, Tedros said.

"What we are proposing together with the World Bank and IMF is an expedited process to support countries so their economies will not be getting into crisis and their communities will not be really getting into crisis," he said. 

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World Bank warns China growth could screech to a halt

WASHINGTON- The coronavirus pandemic's economic fallout could cause China's growth to come to a standstill while driving 11 million more people in East Asia into poverty, the World Bank warned Monday.

The pandemic is causing "an unprecedented global shock, which could bring growth to a halt and could increase poverty across the region," said Aaditya Mattoo, World Bank chief economist for East Asia and the Pacific.

Even in the best-case scenario, the region will see a sharp drop in growth, with China's expansion slowing to 2.3 percent from 6.1 percent in 2019, according to a report on the pandemic's impact on the region.

With two-fifths of the world's population under some form of lockdown that's caused the shuttering of businesses and a slowdown in transportation to try to contain the virus, the country where the outbreak originated may escape a recession but will nonetheless suffer a sharp slowdown.

Just 2 months ago, the World Bank's economists forecast China would grow by 5.9 percent this year, which would have been its worst performance since 1990.

Now the world's second-largest economy faces a more dire outlook, reflected in the record contraction in manufacturing activity in February and industrial production that fell for the first time in 30 years.

The East Asia and Pacific region, excluding China, could see growth slow to 1.3 percent in the baseline or contract 2.8 percent in the more pessimistic scenario as compared to 5.8 percent last year, the report said.

"The pandemic is profoundly affecting the region's economies, but the depth and duration of the shock are unusually uncertain," the report said, noting the region already was unsettled by trade conflict with the United States.

"Containment of the pandemic would allow recovery, but the risk of durable financial stress is high even beyond 2020," the World Bank warned. "Most vulnerable are countries that rely heavily on trade, tourism, and commodities; that are heavily indebted; and that rely on volatile financial flows."

WORSENING POVERTY 

Even in the best case, marked by a sharp slowdown followed by a strong recovery, 24 million fewer people in the region will escape poverty, the report said.

But an additional 11 million people could descend into poverty under the more negative outlook, where there is a severe economic contraction followed by a sluggish recovery.

Mattoo said the 17 countries in the region key to global value chains and accounting for 70 percent of world trade "have all been affected" and now have some of the world's highest numbers of COVID-19 cases.

"In this interdependent world where our economic destinies are intertwined, there's going to be mutual amplification, because the shock is simultaneously affecting all these important countries," he told reporters.

"That makes it particularly costly in economic terms."

The World Bank called for strong action, with the priority first on containment but also on measures to cushion the shock to households of lost wages. 

Mattoo said it is not too late to follow Korea's example to ramp up testing and containment so that economies can begin to return to normal more quickly.

"This is not rocket science. With help even poorer countries can do it."

Agence France-Presse 

World Bank scales back project in China’s Xinjiang region

WASHINGTON — The World Bank said Monday that it would scale back development work in China’s Xinjiang region after speculation that a $50 million loan it granted in 2015 for an education project was being used to fund Muslim detention camps.

The bank has been conducting a review of the project since Sen. Marco Rubio, (Republican-Florida), and Rep. Jim McGovern, (Democrat-Massachusetts), expressed concern about it in August and after an independent researcher found evidence suggesting that funds were being used to buy police batons and tear gas launchers.

The Chinese government has been facing criticism for detaining more than a million Muslim Uighurs and placing them in “re-education” camps where they are forced to renounce their religious beliefs and embrace the ideology of the Communist Party.

The bank said it reviewed the project extensively and was unable to substantiate the allegations. However, the bank acknowledged the challenge of rigorously monitoring the situation and said it was making changes to the project.

The loan was intended to support five vocational schools in the region by upgrading teams of teachers and curriculums. Some of this money was going to “partner schools” that were indirectly receiving World Bank funding and were not under the bank’s supervision.

“In light of the risks associated with the partner schools, which are widely dispersed and difficult to monitor, the scope and footprint of the project is being reduced,” the bank said in a statement. “Specifically, the project component that involves the partner schools in Xinjiang is being closed.”

The bank said it was also increasing its supervision of the project, which is supposed to continue through next year, by assigning a staff member from Washington to jointly head it and bringing on a senior manager from the bank to participate in site visits.

Last month, the Trump administration imposed some commercial restrictions on Chinese technology companies and other organizations believed to be involved in the repression, and said it would impose a visa ban on officials thought to be responsible for human rights abuses.


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Water pollution can reduce economic growth by a third: World Bank

WASHINGTON -- Heavily polluted water is reducing economic growth by up to a third in some countries, a World Bank report said Tuesday, calling for action to address human and environmental harm.

The report relied on what the Bank said was the biggest-ever database assembled on global water quality using monitoring stations, satellite data and machine learning models.

"Clean water is a key factor for economic growth. Deteriorating water quality is stalling economic growth, worsening health conditions, reducing food production, and exacerbating poverty in many countries," said World Bank Group President David Malpass.

The report found that when Biological Oxygen Demand -- an index of the degree of organic pollution and a proxy for overall water pollution -- crosses a threshold of 8 milligrams per liter, GDP growth in downstream regions drops by 0.83 percentage points, about a third for the mean growth rate of 2.33 percent used in the study.

This is because of impacts on health, agriculture, and ecosystems and a "stark indication that there often trade-offs between benefits of economic production and environmental quality, and that the externalities... can be circular," the report said.

A key contributor to poor water quality is nitrogen, essential for agricultural production but which leaches into rivers and oceans where it creates hypoxia and dead zones, and in the air where it forms nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas.

The report said that early exposure of children to nitrates affects their growth and brain development, reducing their health and earning potential.

For every additional kilogram of nitrogen fertilizer per hectare, yields may rise up to five percent, but childhood stunting increases as much as 19 percent and future adult earnings fall by up to two percent compared to those not affected.

And increased salinity as a result of man-made pressures such as irrigation, storm water runoff, leaching of fertilizer, and urban wastewater discharge is pushing down agricultural yields.

The report estimated enough food is lost to saline water each year to feed 170 million people, about the population of Bangladesh.

The authors divided their recommendations into three main areas: information campaigns to raise awareness, prevention efforts to stem some of the worst problems and investments to treat pollution once it has occurred, with more modern technologies like reverse-osmosis offering new pathways.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

IMF/World Bank: 75 years as the world's financial firefighters

WASHINGTON -- At the critical moment of a Hollywood movie starring A-lister Sandra Bullock, Bolivia's newly elected president calls in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail out the poverty-stricken country, violating a campaign promise. 

The streets erupt in violent protest.

The movie, "Our Brand is Crisis," is a fictionalized version of the 2002 Bolivian elections and it drastically simplified the situation. But the writers knew the IMF would be unquestionably accepted as the arch enemy of the people.

After 75 years putting out financial fires around the world, the IMF and World Bank face criticism for repeatedly failing to prevent crises and for making things worse for the people they were meant to help.

That makes them easy scapegoats.

Even if the criticism is not always entirely fair -- no one blames the doctor for prescribing a painful but life-saving treatment -- the institutions have been trying to rebrand themselves in recent years, putting more emphasis publicly on protecting vulnerable members of society in their lending programs.

But they will need more than a better communications strategy as they contend with a wave of anti-globalization sentiment and technological transformation -- while also helping Africa through a transition requiring massive investment in infrastructure and job creation just to keep up with population growth.

The challenges "are huge," World Bank president David Malpass told AFP in an interview.

The IMF and World Bank were created July 22, 1944 in the shadow of World War II to help rebuild Europe and later Japan, and to try to head off the kind of economic strife that had led to the war.

"The original concept of reconstruction and development ... was clarified to include poverty alleviation as the bank grew," Malpass said.

Dismal record

On the surface, their record, especially for the IMF, seems dismal, with each of the prior three decades marked by a severe crisis: the Latin American debt crisis in the 1980s, the Asian and Russian crises in the 1990s and the global financial crisis in 2007, which begat the Great Recession that still looms over the world economy today.

In each case, the damage lasted for a decade or more and the IMF was blamed for inflicting even more pain with its rigid demands and policy advice that, according to the fund's harshest critics, too often favored corporate interests in the rich countries over the poor nations in trouble.

But at the same time extreme poverty has plummeted worldwide -- falling by a billion people since 1990.

"In the history of the world there has never been so much progress in improving people's lives as we have seen in the last 75 years," said Masood Ahmed, who worked alternately either at the IMF or World Bank for nearly half their existences.

But the institutions missed the problems growing beneath the surface. 

The world "was doing so well on the macro level, and there were so many people being lifted out of poverty, that we glossed over the fact that there were many people who were increasingly uncomfortable with the pace of change," said Ahmed, who leads the Center for Global Development, an anti-poverty research organization.

"And I think we're paying a bit of a price for that now."

Without prompting, Malpass volunteered criticism of the "Washington consensus" -- sneering shorthand for policies imposed on developing nations that centered on privatization and steep cuts in government spending and employment.

The consensus was this policy menu would work for every country in crisis -- advice that flies in the face of economic theory calling for spending to increase during a downturn.

Instead, Malpass said he wants to focus the World Bank's programs on what is best for each country.

"I want it to be more and more effective at helping countries find a path to growth and to good outcomes for the people of those countries."

Greater representation

Agustin Carstens, former head of the Mexican central bank and once a deputy managing director of the IMF, credits the organizations with providing needed oversight and policy advice that has prevented "many more crises."

The problem is that, when the IMF is called in, "it goes into an economy at the most difficult time," when all other sources of financing have closed and there are no good options.

But he worries the institutions have failed to adapt to the changing global economy, giving only lip service to the far greater weight of countries like China and India.

With IMF managing director Christine Lagarde set to leave her post on September 12 to take over the European Central Bank, the old powers are poised to continue the tradition of naming a European to lead the fund while an American runs the World Bank, despite past pledges to change.

Carstens, who was a finalist to take over the IMF leadership in 2011 when Lagarde was selected, said the reform is urgently needed to "give more legitimacy to the advice that the fund provides."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Optimism rising over US, China trade accord

WASHI(NGTON -- Trade frictions are seen as a the main source of uncertainty for a slowing global economy, but there are more glimmers of hope for a US-China agreement.

While there is no deadline for ending the protracted trade war with China, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday the talks are nearing their conclusion, a fresh signal of progress.

Mnuchin's remarks came on the margins of spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, which were once again dominated by fears US trade policy could upset global economic growth.

The IMF predicted this week that the slowing world economy should begin to rebound in the latter part of 2019 -- provided in part that the world's top two economies resolve their differences.

In a final statement from the meetings Saturday, the IMF's steering committee, which represents' the organization's 189 members, recognized the need to "resolve trade tensions" and support reforms of the World Trade Organization that have been demanded by the United States.

While the IMF itself has warned against the "self-inflicted wounds" of tariffs and trade barriers, the committee itself steered clear of what has become an unexpected hot button in a forum once devoted to trade liberalization.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said many officials at the meetings in Washington "actually made their views well known about the benefits of trade" for economic growth.

China's deputy central bank governor, Chen Yulu, warned that "the protectionism of some countries has harmed mutual trust among countries," although he did not name the United States.

In the meantime, Washington this week rattled EU nations by threatening a new set of tariffs in retaliation for subsidies to the aviation manufacturer Airbus while separately prepare for new trade talks with Japan.

Close to final round

Mnuchin reiterated that President Donald Trump wants his team to focus more on a good deal with Beijing rather than on a quick one.

"It is more important to get it right than have arbitrary date," Mnuchin told reporters. But "I'm hopeful we're getting close to the final round of concluding issues."

In shuttle diplomacy since January between Washington and Beijing to resolve their nine-month trade war, both sides have continued to express cautious optimism without predicting success.
Mnuchin said officials in Washington and Beijing held a round of telephone talks last week, with more planned for the coming week, and are discussions on whether further in-person meetings are required.

A sticking point in the talks has been American officials' insistence that any final agreement have teeth -- and that they retain the ability to impose fresh tariffs should Beijing backslide on its commitments.

Mnuchin declined to get into details on Saturday.

"There are certain commitments the United States is making in this agreement and there are certain commitments that China is making," he said.

"And I would expect that the enforcement mechanism works in both directions."

"This is a very, very detailed agreement, covering issues that have never been dealt with before," Mnuchin added, noting that the text currently had seven chapters.

Trump said last week a conclusion in the talks was probably "four weeks" away but since discussions began earlier this year to end the nine-month trade war, the finish line has repeatedly slipped further into the future.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ivanka Trump to help US choose candidate for World Bank

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka will help the United States choose its candidate to lead the World Bank but she will not be the one, the White House said on Monday.

Jim Yong Kim abruptly announced last week that he would cut short his tenure as president of the Washington-based global development lender more than three years before his second term was to end.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney "have asked Ivanka Trump to help manage the US nomination process as she's worked closely with the World Bank's leadership for the past two years," said Jessica Ditto, the White House Deputy Director of Communications.

However, Ditto said reports that Ivanka Trump "is under consideration are false."

London's The Financial Times reported on Friday that both Ivanka Trump and Washington's former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley were among possible US candidates to replace Kim.

Other names being floated include Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs David Malpass and Mark Green, head of the US Agency for International Development, the newspaper reported.

Through an unwritten post-war agreement with Europe, the World Bank has always been led by an American while a European has always been in charge of the IMF.

However, that is likely to face a serious challenge both because President Trump has shown little interest in, if not antagonism to the Bank, and has upended the traditional alliances that make the agreement possible.

Developing nations also have been increasing the pressure on the institutions to name a leader from an emerging market country.

Ivanka Trump in 2017 was the driving force behind a $1 billion, Saudi-supported World Bank fund to promote entrepreneurship by women.

The World Bank Board said on Thursday it would start accepting nominations for a new leader early next month and name a replacement for Kim by mid-April.

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Haley, Ivanka Trump among possible World Bank nominees: report

WASHINGTON, United States - Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and US President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka are among possible US candidates to replace outgoing World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, The Financial Times reported Friday.

Kim abruptly announced Monday he was cutting short his tenure as the bank's president more than three years before his second term was due to end.

In addition to Trump and Haley, who stepped down as US Ambassador to the United Nations last month, other names being floated include Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs David Malpass and Mark Green, head of the US Agency for International Development, the newspaper reported.

Ivanka Trump in 2017 was the driving force behind a $1 billion, Saudi-supported World Bank fund to promote entrepreneurship by women.

The Treasury Department told AFP on Friday that it had no comment in potential candidates.

The department has received a "significant number of recommendations," a spokesperson said. 

"We are beginning the internal review process for a US nominee. We look forward to working with the governors to select a new leader."

Under an unwritten agreement, the United States, which is the bank's largest shareholder, has always chosen its leader since the institution was founded following World War II.

But the success of a US candidate no longer appears completely assured.

Kim was the first American nominee to face a contested election for the World Bank presidency in 2012 and the bank's board has said its selection process will be "open, merit-based and transparent," implying non-US candidates would not be ruled out.

The World Bank Board said Thursday it would start accepting nominations for a new leader early next month and name a replacement for Kim by mid-April.

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World Bank promises $200 billion in 2021-2025 climate cash

KATOWICE, Poland -- The World Bank on Monday unveiled $200 billion in climate action investment for 2021-25, adding this amounts to a doubling of its current 5-year funding.

The World Bank said the move, coinciding with a UN climate summit meeting of some 200 nations in Poland, represented a "significantly ramped up ambition" to tackle climate change, "sending an important signal to the wider global community to do the same."

Developed countries are committed to lifting combined annual public and private spending to $100 billion in developing countries by 2020 to fight the impact of climate change -- up from 48.5 billion in 2016 and 56.7 billion last year, according to latest OECD data.

Southern hemisphere countries fighting the impact of warming temperatures are nonetheless pushing northern counterparts for firmer commitments.

In a statement, the World Bank said the breakdown of the $200 billion would comprise "approximately $100 billion in direct finance from the World Bank."

Around one-third of the remaining funding will come from two World Bank Group agencies with the rest private capital "mobilized by the World Bank Group."

"If we don't reduce emissions and build adaptation now, we'll have 100 million more people living in poverty by 2030," John Roome, World Bank senior director for climate change, warned.

"And we also know that the less we address this issue proactively just in three regions -- Africa, South Asia and Latin America -- we'll have 133 million climate migrants," Roome told AFP.

'FIGHT THE CAUSES'

The bank's financing package amounts to "about 40 billion a year, but the direct (finance) is 27 billion per year on average," Roome said.

He added that in the 2018 fiscal year, running from July 2017 to June this year, the World Bank had committed $20.5 billion to climate action, compared with an annual average of $13.5 billion for the 2014-2018 period.

Roome said the money now being earmarked amounted to "about 35 percent" of the World Bank Group's total financing.

Much of the climate action financing is being set aside for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, notably through development of renewable energy strategies.

However, the World Bank stated that "a key priority is boosting support for climate adaptation," given the millions of people already battling the consequences of extreme weather.

"By ramping up direct adaptation finance to reach around $50 billion over (fiscal) 21-25, the World Bank will, for the first time, give this equal emphasis alongside investments that reduce emissions," the bank stated.

Given the urgency to act in the face of sea level rise, flooding and drought "we must fight the causes, but also adapt to the consequences that are often most dramatic for the world's poorest people," said World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva.

By stepping up financial aid to developing countries worst affected, Georgieva said the bank was committed to adapting infrastructure while investing in "climate smart agriculture, sustainable water management and responsive social safety nets" as well as early response networks.

"Even if we can keep global warming down to 2 degrees Celsius we know you're gonna need a significant amount of adaptation in places like Chad, Mozambique or Bangladesh," said Roome.

The countries whose representatives are meeting at the UN climate summit which opened Sunday in the Polish city of Katowice are seeking to make good on commitments made in the 2015 Paris climate accord.

That agreement saw countries commit to limiting global temperature rises to well below two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and to the safer cap of 1.5C if at all possible.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

World Bank to issue world's first blockchain bond

WASHINGTON -- The World Bank is taking a step into the brave new world of digital finance to sell the first-ever bond to be issued entirely using blockchain technology, the bank announced Friday.

More than just funds, the World Bank aims to gain experience using blockchain -- a digital public registry of transactions -- that could lead to "a golden future" for financial services for developing nations, a bank official told AFP.

The technology is most often associated with cryptocurrencies -- like bitcoin -- which often raise suspicion about their reliability and volatility, as well as their use for criminal purposes.

But because there as yet is no central bank-backed digital currency in existence, the two-year blockchain bond will rely on real-world money: Australian dollars.

The Washington-based development lender aims to raise about Aus$50 million (about $36 million), although it could be double that if more investors get involved before the bond is finalized the week of Aug. 20.

"Since our first bond transaction in 1947, innovation and investor satisfaction have been important hallmarks of our success with leveraging capital markets for development," World Bank Treasurer Arunma Oteh said.

"Today, we believe that emerging technologies, equally offer transformative, yet prudent possibilities for us to continue to innovate, respond to investor needs and strengthen markets."

The transaction is the brainchild of the World Bank's innovation lab, which has been working on the issue for nearly a year, together with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The institution also partnered with Microsoft, which will ensure the platform and software are "solid, bug free, and have no vulnerabilities to attack," said Paul Snaith, manager of the World Bank's Treasury Operations Capital Markets.

He said use of blockchain could improve transparency, since it is public, and cut down on transaction time since the bonds eventually will be exchanged instantaneously for cash.

For now, though, investors still have to register and all cash will be transmitted separately from the blockchain through "normal channels," the old fashioned way.

The two-year life of the blockchain bond will provide "quite a few learning events and opportunities," he said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

World Bank orders Argentina to pay $320 million over seized airline: newspaper

BUENOS AIRES - The World Bank's arbitration tribunal has ordered Argentina to pay $320 million plus interest and legal fees to Spanish travel group Marsans for expropriating its airline Aerolineas Argentinas in 2008, a local newspaper reported on Saturday.

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled against Argentina for "illegally expropriating the investments" of Marsans, the tribunal was quoted saying in daily newspaper Clarin.

ICSID and a spokesperson for the office of Argentine President Mauricio Macri did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Argentina's former President Cristina Fernandez ordered the state seizure of the airline in 2008, alleging mismanagement. It has remained under state control since then.

Pro-business Macri has been trying to dismantle state controls on the economy implemented during Fernandez's government since taking office in 2015.

Reporting By Eliana Raszewski, Writing By Mitra Taj; editing by Diane Craft

source: news.abs-cbn.com

World Bank raises $500M with 'pandemic bonds'

WASHINGTON - The World Bank raised $500 million to finance rapid response to disease outbreaks, including through sale of its first-ever "pandemic bonds," the bank announced Wednesday.

Drawing on the slow response to the 2013 Ebola outbreak in Africa in which thousands died, the World Bank designed the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF), to channel surge funding to developing countries facing the risk of a pandemic.

"With this new facility, we have taken a momentous step that has the potential to save millions of lives and entire economies from one of the greatest systemic threats we face," World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement.

"We are moving away from the cycle of panic and neglect that has characterized so much of our approach to pandemics."

The fund will provide $500 million over the next five years through a combination of sales of the bonds and derivatives, cash and future commitments from donor countries, the World Bank said in a statement. Germany provided an initial cash injection of 50 million euros.

The PEF, announced in May 2016 at the Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Japan, was oversubscribed by 200 percent.

The PEF covers six viruses that are most likely to cause a pandemic, including those responsible for new influenza pandemic virus A, SARS, MERS, Ebola, Marburg, and others like Crimean Congo, Rift Valley and Lassa fever.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Blast at IMF Paris offices after envelope opened, one person hurt

PARIS - A letter exploded when it was opened at the offices in central Paris of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday injuring one person.

The Paris police department said an operation was ongoing at the offices of the IMF and World Bank after the incident.

The blast was caused by a homemade device, said the head of the French capital's police force.

"It was something that was fairly homemade," police chief Michel Cadot told reporters.

Cadot said there had been some telephone threats made in recent days, but it was not clear if these were linked to the incident at the IMF's offices.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde condemned an explosion as "a cowardly act of violence."

"I condemn this cowardly act of violence and reaffirm the IMF's resolve to continue our work in line with our mandate. We are working closely with the French authorities to investigate this incident and ensure the safety of our staff," she said.

The incident, just six weeks before a presidential election, comes as a militant Greek group Conspiracy of Fire Cells claimed responsibility for a parcel bomb mailed to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Wednesday.

French President Francois Hollande said French authorities would do all they could to find those responsible for the incident.

(Reporting by Bate Felix, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Sophie Louet; Writing and Editing by Richard Balmforth, John Irish and Adrian Croft)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

IMF says global growth to stay weak, warns of populist fallout

WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund maintained its forecast for weak global growth on Tuesday and warned that further stagnation would fuel more populist sentiment against trade and immigration that would stifle activity, productivity and innovation.

In the latest update of its World Economic Outlook, the IMF said that a drop in US growth for 2016 due to a weak first-half performance would be offset by strengthening in Japan, Germany, Russia, India and some other emerging markets.

The Fund kept its overall global growth forecasts unchanged at 3.1 percent for 2016 and 3.4 percent for 2017 after cutting its outlook for five straight quarters.

"Taken as a whole, the world economy has moved sideways," IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld said in a statement.

"Without determined policy action to support economic activity over the short and longer terms, sub-par growth at recent levels risks perpetuating itself."

The new forecasts were released as global policymakers gathered in Washington for the IMF and World Bank annual meetings this week.

The IMF said advanced economies as a whole would see a weakening of growth in 2016, down 0.2 percentage point from July to 1.6 percent, while emerging market and developing economies will see a 0.1 percentage point gain in growth to 4.2 percent.

The IMF said its 2017 forecast for both groups was unchanged, with advanced economies forecast to grow 1.8 percent and emerging markets growing 4.6 percent.

The United States accounts for much of the decline in advanced economies, with a reduction to 1.6 percent growth from 2.2 percent forecast in July, due to a disappointing first-half performance caused by weak business investment and a draw-down of goods inventories.

The drag from a stronger dollar and lower energy prices should fade by next year.

The Fund also argued for a gradual approach to Federal Reserve interest rate hikes "tied to clear signs that wages and prices are firming durably."

Its growth forecast for Japan improved slightly due to government spending, a delay in a consumption tax increase and expansionary monetary policy, but only to a weak 0.5 percent in 2016 and 0.6 percent in 2017.

For Britain, the IMF lifted its 2016 forecast by 0.1 percentage point as retail spending has held up better than expected after the June vote to leave the European Union.

But it lowered its 2017 forecast by 0.2 percentage points to 1.1 percent on anticipation that uncertainty over separation from Europe will take a bigger toll on investment in the country.

Growth forecasts for China remained unchanged at 6.6 percent for 2016 and 6.2 percent for 2017 as strong policy support and credit growth were fueling domestic consumption.

India's growth will improve slightly to 7.6 percent in both years, while Russia will benefit from a rebound in energy prices.

Obstfeld said that persistently weak growth that leaves lower-income people behind has fueled a political movement "that blames globalization for all woes" and seeks to raise trade barriers, adding that the vote for "Brexit" was one example of this.

"In short, growth has been too low for too long, and in many countries its benefits have reached too few -- with political repercussions that are likely to depress global growth further," Obstfeld said.

The IMF said other risks to the outlook included further turbulence from China's transition towards a more consumer-driven economy, another drop in commodity prices, a sharp hike in trade barriers and a flare-up in geopolitical tensions.

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