The World Bank’s ongoing reform could result in a US$50 billion lending boost over the next decade, US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen told reporters ahead of stakeholders’ meetings this week where key changes are expected to be announced.
Central bankers, finance ministers and participants from more than 180 member countries are expected to gather in the US capital for the IMF and World Bank’s spring meetings this week.
A key topic of discussion would be the World Bank’s evolution, amid a push for lenders to revamp and meet global challenges like climate change. The US is the largest shareholder of the World Bank Group.
Photo: AFP
“I expect there to be an update of the bank’s mission to add building resilience against climate change, pandemics, and conflict and fragility to the core goals,” Yellen said in the interview with Agence France-Presse on Thursday.
She added that there needs to be a recognition that these challenges are not separate or conflicting, but rather inextricably linked.
“Second, there will be an announcement that the bank is stretching its financial capacity to meet these objectives, and adopting changes or endorsing changes that could result in an additional US$50 billion in extra lending capacity over the next decade,” Yellen said.
The move would be a significant resource boost marking a 20 percent rise in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (IBRD) sustainable lending level. The IBRD is the World Bank’s middle-income lending arm.
Yellen also said there would be an announcement on updating the bank’s operational model to “orient it towards the goals that we’re setting.”
Among other things, this includes creating more incentives for the mobilization of both domestic and private capital.
“We seek additional reforms during the rest of this year,” Yellen said.
Last month, the World Bank submitted an evolution plan to be discussed with its development committee on Wednesday, during the spring meetings.
Saying that World Bank president David Malpass has laid a “solid foundation” for the ongoing work, Yellen added that she expects US candidate Ajay Banga to be elected to the helm of the organization and continue the revamp.
Banga was the sole nominee for the position after Malpass announced this year that he would step down early.
Also on policymakers’ agendas this week are support for war-torn Ukraine and debt restructuring.
“We have seen some movement by China on participating in debt restructuring for Sri Lanka, which is a hopeful sign,” Yellen said.
As global growth slows, the World Bank previously warned that the outlook is especially tough for the poorest economies — which face sluggish growth driven by heavy debt burdens and weak investment.
Yellen had earlier said that China should move more quickly on some debt restructurings.
Discussions on this front would continue this week as a newly formed global sovereign debt roundtable gathers, she said.
“We’re having useful technical discussions on important elements of debt restructuring. China has been participating, and we all continue to press China for improvements,” she added.
Washington would continue pushing for a speedier and more predictable operation of the G20 “common framework” for debt restructuring as well.
On Ukraine, Yellen said: “Once again, we will work with all of our allies to insist that Russia cease its brutality in Ukraine.”
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS