Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - World Bank is leading the charge

World Bank is leading the charge

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Former World Bank President Jim Yong Kim speaks at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Nusa Dua, on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali, on October 12. SONNY TUMBELAKA/GETTY IMAGES/AFP

World Bank is leading the charge

THE World Bank, whose new president is due to be appointed by mid-April, is a global financial organisation whose mission is to end extreme poverty by supporting development projects.

Like its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it was created in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference held in the aftermath of the war.

Since then, it has financed more than 12,000 development projects through loans and grants, and also provides technical assistance, with a heavy focus on infrastructure, like roads, dams and electrical grids.

The lender has 189 member countries, with more than 10,000 employees and 130 branches around the world.

It has grown from a single institution into a group of five entities, the largest of which are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which lends to middle- and low-income countries, and the International Development Association (IDA), which provides concessional loans and grants to the world’s poorest countries.

For fiscal year 2018, IBRD had total outstanding loans of $183.58 billion.

The biggest borrowers last year were India ($3.45 billion), Egypt ($2.18 billion), Indonesia ($1.8 billion), China ($1.78 billion) and Turkey ($1.4 billion).

The largest IDA customers were Ethiopia ($3.12 billion), Bangladesh ($2.99 billion) and Nigeria ($2.59 billion), followed by Pakistan ($1.95 billion) and Kenya ($1.28 billion).

The World Bank Group also includes three units that work in private sector finance:

- The International Finance Corporation (IFC), offers financing for private firms in developing countries.

- The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), as its name implies, offers investors guarantees against losses associated with non-commercial risks in developing countries.

- The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which provides international tribunal mechanisms to arbitrate investment disputes.

‘Not in the ordinary sense’

The World Bank says it is “not a bank in the ordinary sense but a unique partnership to reduce poverty and support development”.

It is governed by a board made up of representatives of its 189 member countries. The US has by far the largest share of the votes but does not hold a majority.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has criticised the World Bank for lending to higher-income countries, especially China, which it says should have “graduated” because, as the second largest economy in the world, it can afford to borrow from financial markets.

Shareholders in April last year approved a “historic increase” in capital across World Bank units allowing it to increase lending, after the institution agreed to a US demand to reduce lending and increase interest rates for countries like China.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm

  • Manet touches down in Beijing for high-level meetings

    Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on September 14 for his first official visit to China, where he is slated to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and meet other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon his arrival, Manet laid a wreath at the Monument