Emerging economies must be given a fair shot at leading the institutions at the heart of global finance or they will end up going their own way, a challenger for the top job at the World Bank said. "The balance of power in the world has shifted and emerging market countries are contributing more and more to global growth - more than 50 percent - and they need to be given a voice in running things," Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters. "If you don't, they will lose interest. Okonjo-Iweala, 57, was nominated on Friday by African power houses Nigeria, South Africa and Angola to lead the poverty-fighting institution when its current president Robert Zoellick steps down in June. She is going up against Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American health expert whose name was put forward by U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday, and former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo, who was nominated by Brazil. It's the first time the post has ever been contested. Under … [Read more...]

The United States on Friday named its candidate to lead the World Bank (WB), but this time the selection is not a solo any more. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (1st L), Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim (2nd L) and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner (1st R) listen while U.S. President Barack Obama speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, March 23, 2012. Obama on Friday nominated the Korean-American physician Jim Yong Kim to head the World Bank, succeeding outgoing Robert Zoellick. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun) Two candidates endorsed by developing countries unprecedentedly challenged the U.S. monopoly on the top post of the WB, the leading global financial institution for fighting poverty and supporting development. SURPRISE PICK As the deadline loomed, U.S. President Barack Obama announced the nomination of Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American global health expert, as candidate to replace outgoing Robert … [Read more...]

The race to succeed World Bank President Robert Zoellick is heating up with the emergence of the first declared candidate, another American. The race to succeed World Bank President Robert Zoellick, pictured, is heating up with the emergence of the first declared candidate, another American. Photo: AFP Renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs, who led the UN committee on the Millennium development goals, threw his hat in the ring Friday in a Washington Post op-ed piece, saying the World Bank needs an expert like himself rather than another politician or Wall Street banker. Sachs's declaration came amid signs the United States is eyeing others for the high-profile job. "The United States signaled that it was looking at the possibility of nominating (Treasury Secretary Timothy) Geithner, (one of his predecessors Larry) Summers, or someone from the private sector like (Pimco chief executive) Mohamed El-Erian," said a person close to the … [Read more...]

China could face an economic crisis in the next 20 years if Beijing does not quickly overhaul its development model, World Bank and Chinese government researchers warned on Monday. … [Read more...]

China has reached a "turning point" in its economic development, with the pace of growth likely to nearly halve in the next two decades, World Bank and Chinese government researchers said Monday. … [Read more...]

With global economic growth prospects dampened by the ongoing eurozone crisis, the World Bank has sharply lowered its global economic growth forecast and suggested effective policy actions from different countries. The Washington-based organization on Tuesday lowered its global economic growth rate prediction to 2.5 percent in 2012 from its previous estimate of 3.6 percent in June 2011. Developing countries should prepare for further downside risks, as the eurozone debt problems and weakening growth in several big emerging economies are dimming global growth prospects, the World Bank said in its newly-released flagship report "Global Economic Prospects (GEP) 2012". "The world economy has entered a very difficult phase characterized by significant downside risks and fragility," the report said. The bank has lowered its growth forecast for 2012 to 5.4 percent for developing countries and 1.4 percent for high-income countries, down from its June estimates of 6.2 percent and … [Read more...]

The World Bank has predicted that Vietnam's gross domestic product will increase 6.1 per cent next year in its East Asia and Pacific Economic Update released on November 22. It said the real GDP growth rate in the first half of 2011 was 5.6 per cent, and is expected to be around 5.8 per cent for the whole year. Monthly inflation slowed to around 1 per cent since June 2011 as stabilisation measures began to take effect. However, inflation is unlikely to decline substantially in the near future because of factors such as commodity prices, minimum wage adjustments, possible hikes in electricity tariffs and market expectation of a more accommodating credit policy during the last quarter of the year. Trade deficit is expected to improve in 2011. Import growth has slowed as a result of stabilisation policies whereas export growth has remained robust helped by high commodity prices. Export earnings grew 33.7 per cent and the import bill increased 25.4 per cent in the first eight months of … [Read more...]

The World Bank has predicted that Vietnam's gross domestic product will increase 6.1 percent next year in its East Asia and Pacific Economic Update released on Nov. 22. It said the real GDP growth rate in the first half of 2011 was 5.6 percent, and is expected to be around 5.8 percent for the whole year. Monthly inflation slowed to around 1 percent since June 2011 as stabilisation measures began to take effect. However, inflation is unlikely to decline substantially in the near future because of factors such as commodity prices, minimum wage adjustments, possible hikes in electricity tariffs and market expectation of a more accommodating credit policy during the last quarter of the year. Trade deficit is expected to improve in 2011. Import growth has slowed as a result of stabilisation policies whereas export growth has remained robust helped by high commodity prices. Export earnings grew 33.7 percent and the import bill increased 25.4 percent in the first eight months of … [Read more...]

HA NOI — The World Bank has predicted that Viet Nam's gross domestic product would increase 6.1 per cent next year in its East Asia and Pacific Economic Update released yesterday. It said the real GDP growth rate in the first half of 2011 was 5.6 per cent, and is expected to be around 5.8 per cent for the whole year. Monthly inflation slowed to around 1 per cent since June 2011 as stabilisation measures began to take effect. However, inflation is unlikely to decline substantially in the near future because of factors such as commodity prices, minimum wage adjustments, possible hikes in electricity tariffs and market expectation of a more accommodating credit policy during the last quarter of the year. Trade deficit is expected to improve in 2011. Import growth has slowed as a result of stabilisation policies whereas export growth has remained robust helped by high commodity prices. Export earnings grew 33.7 per cent and the import bill increased 25.4 per cent in the first … [Read more...]

Growth in East Asian economies will slow next year with demand from key export markets in the United States and Europe falling as they struggle with their debt crises, the World Bank warned on Tuesday. … [Read more...]