Countries must focus on reforms Says Zoellick
By: Rejaul Karim Byron, from Washington World Bank President Robert B Zoellick has said countries, both developing and developed, need to focus on ‘structural reforms’ which will be the drivers of future growth. “Otherwise, the world will keep stumbling along. The World Bank Group will be emphasising the structural growth agenda,” he said. Zoellick said [...]
The World Bank has temporarily barred a unit of Canadian company SNC-Lavalin from bidding on new WB projects following an investigation into Padma bridge project. The SNC-Lavalin did not name the unit but said the WB move relates a probe of the Padma bridge project, on which the SNC unit had bid. “The allegations in [...]
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From left, Brendan Smialowski/AFP-Getty; Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters; David Mercado/Reuters From left, Jim Yong Kim of Dartmouth College, expected to head the bank; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s finance minister; and José Antonio Ocampo, the former Colombian finance minister. By ANNIE LOWREY WASHINGTON — For the first time, the World Bank is considering more than one candidate for its [...]
Continue reading …Foreign aid use hits 3-year low: Govt meets donors tomorrow to discuss bottlenecks
March 26, 2012 No Comment
By: Rejaul Karim Byron Bangladesh spent only 7.3 percent of foreign aid in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, which is the lowest in the last three fiscal years. The Economic Relations Division (ERD) found a number of reasons behind the slow pace in using foreign aid, including delays in bidding process [...]
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By: Diplomatic Correspondent The Malaysian cabinet has approved investment in the Padma bridge project. “The funding was approved by the Malaysian cabinet on Friday (March 23). It will now be considered by the Bangladesh government. All now depends on the outcome of the decision by the Bangladesh cabinet,” Jamaluddin Sabeh, the outgoing Malaysian High Commissioner [...]
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By SUDEEP REDDY WASHINGTON—The Obama administration on Friday will nominate Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim to lead the World Bank, choosing a global-health expert to head the development institution. Dr. Kim, an American physician who was born in South Korea and raised in Iowa, is a surprise pick for a job that has usually [...]
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By: Staff Reporter The Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, said on Wednesday that the Awami League (AL) will never allow anyone to play with the fate of the people, and that the AL-led government has always earned praises from the international community, whereas the BNP-led government had only disgraced itself. “We’ve succeeded in achieving the legitimate [...]
Continue reading …Senior ministers on Monday opposed the idea of the government scrapping the deal for borrowing from the World Bank for the Padma Bridge to be able to conclude an alternative credit agreement with a Kuala Lumpur-based consortium. They also told finance minister AMA Muhith at a meeting at his office that ‘further hitch’ with the [...]
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What a fascinating turn of events. In fact, since the other front that Hasina has opened up recently is a war on the World Bank (cancelling their involvement in the Padma Bridge project), the facts could bear the interpretation that the only reason she wants Dr Yunus to head the Bank (if indeed she [...]
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A report launched recently by the World Bank found a significant decrease in poverty and steady job growth in South Asia and projected the sub-continent as being the largest contributor to the global workforce over the next 20 years with demographic transition leading to 350 million people entering the working age population in the next [...]
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Bangladesh needs up to 1.5 million new jobs each year for the next 20 years to accelerate economic growth, says the World Bank. Bangladesh along with other South Asian nations has seen steady job growth and a substantial decrease in poverty over the past three decades, according to a WB report. The WB yesterday launched [...]
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The government has decided to prepare next fiscal year’s budget aiming at achieving 7.2 to 7.5 percent growth, provided the country can effectively manage internal and external setbacks.Economic growth of next fiscal year is likely to estimated by the finance ministry above seven percent despite double dip recession in United States and Euro crisis in [...]
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