Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a three year SDR 11.445 million (about US$ 17.6 million, or 105 percent of Seychelles’ quota) arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for the Republic of Seychelles to support the authorities’ economic program. The approval enables the immediate disbursement of SDR 1.635 million (about US$ 2.5 million), while the remaining amount will be phased over the duration of the program, subject to semi-annual program reviews.

China’s growth will moderate over the medium term as the economy continues to rebalance gradually. Growth is expected to slow to 7.6 percent in 2014, and 7.5 percent in 2015, from 7.7 percent in 2013, according to the World Bank’s China Economic Update released.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Mr. Joël Toujas-Bernaté visited Yaoundé during May 21-June 5, 2014, to conduct discussions on common policies for the member countries with the institutions of the Central African Monetary and Economic Community (CEMAC). Discussions focused on recent economic developments and key challenges for the region, including the optimal fiscal policy response to attenuate risks and boost growth, monetary policy reform to make it more effective, financial sector reforms to promote development and stability and measures to foster regional integration.

The euro zone could get bigger next year after the European Commission said Lithuania is ready to adopt the common currency. That is the conclusion of the convergence reports published on 4 June by the Commission and the European Central Bank, assessing eight EU countries’ readiness to join the euro zone. A final decision will be made by the Council at the end of July after consulting the Parliament.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a US$250 million credit to the Government of Vietnam for the Second Economic Management and Competitiveness development policy operation (EMCC-2) to support the Government’s economic management reforms to enhance the country’s competitiveness.

On his last day in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim visited the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan to bring global attention to the plight of the refugees and the impact of the Syrian crisis on neighboring countries.

Ministers of Finance, business leaders, accounting professionals, and academics from Europe and Central Asia, together with representatives of the World Bank and key EU and international institutions in financial reporting and auditing, met in Vienna for the 5th Ministerial Conference of the World Bank Centre for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR).

The global fight against corruption has been a priority of the G20 for the past four years. To take stock of the impact to date and to discuss new approaches to address this challenge, the OECD and G20 will hold the Fourth Annual High-Level Conference on Corruption for G20 Governments and Business in Rome on Wednesday 11 June 2014. This event is open to media.

A joint International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) mission, led by Mr. Elias Kazarian (IMF) and Ms. Aurora Ferrari (WB), visited Tbilisi during May 20-June 3 to conduct an assessment under the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). The FSAP assessed financial sector strengths and vulnerabilities to systemic risks, reviewed the supervisory framework and the contingency arrangements, and measures to promote financial sector development.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a US$8.9 million grant and a US$8.9 million credit in additional financing from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Technical Assistance for Capacity Building in the Hydropower and Mining Sectors Project in Lao PDR.