Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

The World Bank reaffirmed its continued support to Bangladesh to achieve the country’s vision of reaching an upper-middle income status through ensuring green growth, as the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva concluded a two-day visit to the country.

On July 11, the World Bank Board of Directors approved US$500 million in new financing to support Argentina’s economic recovery efforts with the aim to promote inclusive private sector led growth. This loan completes the World Bank budget support of US$1 billion, which had a first disbursement in November 2018.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on July 12, completed the fourth review of Argentina’s economic performance under the 36-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) that was approved on June 20, 2018. The completion of the review allows the authorities to draw SDR 3.9 billion (about US$5.4 billion), bringing total disbursements since June 2018 to SDR 31.91371 (about US$44.1 billion).

The Ivorian economy has remained buoyant since the start of the year, posting one of the fastest growth rates in Africa. This rate is projected to reach 7.2 % in 2019, compared to 7.4% last year. This was the finding of the ninth economic update for Côte d’Ivoire published by the World Bank, on July 11. This sound performance is due primarily to regained private sector momentum, which had slowed in 2016 and 2017. The private sector is once again the main engine of growth in the country.

Unlocking the bottlenecks to robust and sustained real growth through economic diversification and addressing pre-existing macroeconomic weaknesses will be crucial for building a resilient economy that promotes inclusive growth and reduces poverty, according to the new World Bank Sierra Leone Economic Update (SLEU) launched in Freetown, on July 11. The country’s macroeconomic situation remains challenging despite the bold and courageous policy measures taken by the new government.

On July 8, 2019, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Portugal.

Growth in 2018 eased compared to 2017 in part due to weaker economic activity in Europe. Unemployment is at a 14-year low, driven by strong employment growth, especially among the long-term unemployed. Growth in 2019 is expected to moderate to 1.7 percent and converge in the following years to its medium-term potential.

Maya Gurung, Large Cardamom Entrepreneur from Taplejung in Eastern Nepal, with products made from cardamom fibre