Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

An IMF team headed by Alex Segura-Ubiergo visited Libreville from February 14-28 to initiate discussions toward a possible financial arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, on February 27, approved $125 million in financing to support a government project that aims to upgrade more than 140 dams throughout Indonesia and make them safer for the 11 million people living near the reservoirs.

More than 110,000 people in Argentina will benefit from access to affordable housing and transformation of urban slums thanks to two new projects approved by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors, on February 28. Totaling US$400 million, the two projects aim to improve basic services in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods and improve access to formal housing throughout the country.

UK government has on 27 February launched a nationwide campaign to increase low paid workers’ understanding of their rights around pay.

Negotiations are now underway to deliver cheaper, more reliable power to Solomon Islands through the Tina River Hydropower Project, with Korean companies Korea Water Resources (K-Water) and Hyundai Engineering Corporation meeting with representatives from Solomon Islands Government ministries and Solomon Power aiming to finalize key project agreements in the coming weeks.

On February 17, 2017, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Fifth Post-Program Monitoring with Portugal.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Niamh Sheridan visited Samoa from February 8-17 to hold discussions with authorities on the 2017 Article IV Consultation. The team met with the Minister of Finance Sili Epa Tuioti, Chief Executive Officer of Ministry of Finance Lavea Tupa'imatuna Iulai Lavea, the Governor of the Central Bank of Samoa (CBS) Atalina Ainuu-Enari, senior government officials, as well as development partners and representatives from the private sector.

At the request of the government of Benin, a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Norbert Toé, Mission Chief for Benin, visited Cotonou from February 15 to 22, 2017, to finalize discussions with the authorities on a three-year economic program that could be supported by the IMF under its Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.

A new report presented on February 22, by the World Bank suggests a series of policies designed to strengthen free-trade zones in the Dominican Republic as a path toward sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and its effective use in order to attract foreign direct investment and generate better-qualified and better-paid jobs.