Rising food prices have pushed about 44 million people into poverty in developing countries since last June, the World Bank warned on Tuesday. Food costs are continuing to rise to near 2008 levels, when price spikes in food and oil had devastating impacts on the poor, the development lender said, noting its numbers were released ahead of a Group of 20 finance chiefs meeting this week. "Global food prices are rising to dangerous levels and threaten tens of millions of poor people around the world," World Bank president Robert Zoellick said in a statement. "The price hike is already pushing millions of people into poverty, and putting stress on the most vulnerable, who spend more than half of their income on food." According to the bank's latest Food Price Watch, prices rose by 15 percent between October 2010 and January 2011. Zoellick told reporters that the report "underscores the need for the G20 to put food first." Source: VOV News … [Read more...] about Food prices reach ‘dangerous levels’, warns World Bank chief
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World Bank sees Japan slowdown as mild, temporary
Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami will depress growth briefly before reconstruction kicks off and gives the beleaguered economy a boost, the World Bank said in a report on March 21. It was too early to make accurate estimates, the report noted, but added that Japan's experience of recovering from the 1995 Kobe earthquake bodes well for its ability to cope with the triple disaster of this month's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. "If history is any guide, real GDP growth will be negatively affected through mid-2011. Growth should pick up in subsequent quarters as reconstruction efforts, which could last five years, accelerate," the World Bank said in a supplement to its semi-annual East Asia and Pacific Economic Update. "A temporary growth slowdown in Japan will have a modest short-term impact on the region," the Washington-based lender added. The World Bank did not offer its own forecast about the likely cost of Japan's disaster. Citing private … [Read more...] about World Bank sees Japan slowdown as mild, temporary
World Bank applauds Vietnam’s rural finance project
Vietnam's Rural Finance Project II (RFP II) has contributed 20 - 30 percent to reducing poverty in northern mountainous provinces and has brought a number of improvements to these localities. A delegation from the World Bank supervising the project gave this assessment at a meeting with the Deputy Governor of Vietnam's State Bank Nguyen Van Binh in Hanoi on May 15. The RFP II has also introduced several measures to manage the environment, including raising public awareness and to raise people's living standards. The project manager, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and reported that RFP II's capital has risen from 200 million USD to 235 million USD due to fluctuations in the price of SDR/USD and by March 31, 99 percent of the total capital had been disbursed. The project financed more than 409,000 small projects in 60 provinces and cities nationwide. The same day, WB and BIDV and eight other financial institutions signed a sub-loan contract to launch the … [Read more...] about World Bank applauds Vietnam’s rural finance project
World Bank calls for more attention on global food crisis
As global food security remains in danger, leaders from the world's major economies should continue to pay attention to the challenging issue, the World Bank said on November 1. "The food crisis is far from over," World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick said ahead of the upcoming G20 summit in Cannes, France. "Prices remain volatile and millions of people around the world are still suffering," Zoellick said. According to the World Bank's new Food Price Watch released the same day, the food price index has dropped 5 percent from its February 2011 peak, while remaining 19 percent above its September 2010 level. The 187-member global financial institution said that it has been working closely with the French Presidency of the G20 and others to prevent the vulnerable from volatile food prices and to address the root causes of the crisis. "Millions of people around the world face a daily crisis of hunger and malnutrition. At Cannes, the G20 summit can and should take steps … [Read more...] about World Bank calls for more attention on global food crisis
Vietnam ranking down in World Bank business report
Vietnam's position plunged eight notches to 98 in a freshly released International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank report on the overall ease of doing business around the world despite its effort to protect investors. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, explains in its Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World report that the slump is due partly to strong reforms in many other economies and the country’s poor performance on the two indicators: “Paying taxes” (down 22 notches) and “Resolving insolvency” (down 12 notches). It says Vietnam has strengthened investor protections by requiring higher standards of accountability for company directors. The report shows a total of 245 business regulatory reforms were implemented across 125 economies – 13 percent more reforms than in the previous year. In the meantime, 29 economies are shown to have implemented insolvency reforms, up from 16 the previous year and 18 the … [Read more...] about Vietnam ranking down in World Bank business report