Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

On December 4, 2015, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation discussions with Djibouti, and considered and endorsed the staff appraisal without a meeting.

The Government of Bangladesh Sunday signed a $177 million additional financing agreement with the International Development Association (IDA) to complete the ongoing construction of a 335 megawatt combined cycle power plant at Siddhirganj, near Dhaka. The power plant will account for 6 percent of the total electricity delivered to the national grid. IDA is the World Bank’s concessional arm that helps the world’s poorest countries.

The World Bank has transferred an amount of about US$22 million to the Palestinian Authority from the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan Trust Fund (PRDP-MDTF), a multi-donor budget support mechanism administered by the Bank.

A new contingent line of credit to support the Philippines’ efforts to manage the risks posed by natural disasters was approved by the World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors on December 22.

The economic recovery in the European Union (EU) is gaining strength, but the pace of growth continues to be modest, despite accommodative monetary policy and favorable financial conditions, and investment remains subdued, says the new World Bank EU Regular Economic Report, a semiannual publication that covers economic developments, prospects, and economic policies in the EU.

Tuesday the World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved US$70 million in support of the Government of Mozambique’s State Budget and its 5-year plan (Plano Quinquenal do Governo – PQG). This International Development Association (IDA) funding is provided under the Eleventh Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC XI) program that supports the Government’s programmatic reform agenda agreed upon with the World Bank in the context of general budget support.

Tuesday the World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved US$70 million in support of the Government of Mozambique’s State Budget and its 5-year plan (Plano Quinquenal do Governo – PQG). This International Development Association (IDA) funding is provided under the Eleventh Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC XI) program that supports the Government’s programmatic reform agenda agreed upon with the World Bank in the context of general budget support.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team, led by Enrique Gelbard visited Gaborone during December 7–22 for discussions on the 2015 Article IV Consultation with Botswana.

On December 7, 2015, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Iran.
The sharp decline in global oil prices, tight corporate and bank balance sheets, and postponed consumption and investment decisions ahead of the expected lifting of economic sanctions, have significantly slowed down economic activity since the fourth quarter of 2014/15. Real GDP growth is projected to decline from 3 percent in 2014/15 to somewhere between 0.5 to -0.5 percent in 2015/16. Twelve-month (point-to-point) inflation has declined to around 10 percent in recent months, largely reflecting lower food and beverage inflation, and the inflation rate is expected to remain close to 14 percent by year-end.

Residents in Tianjin Municipality and Urumqi City in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region will benefit from faster, greener and safer urban transport with support of two loans approved Monday by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors.