The World Bank pledged on Wednesday to help Asian nations hit by financial turmoil, but ruled out immediate prospects for a funding facility for Southeast Asia to cope with the crisis.
“We stand ready to support all of our member countries across East Asia to deal with the challenges arising from the financial crisis,” said Jim Adams, the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific regional vice president.
He said however the bank did not expect a regional fund to be set up for the purpose following a statement by Philippine President Gloria Arroyo that a “standby facility” would be established to help Southeast Asian nations in need of cash.
Arroyo had said in Manila on Wednesday that East Asian finance ministers “reached an understanding to establish” the facility during talks last week on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington.
She said the World Bank had “indicated” it would commit funds to the facility following global turmoil sparked by a US mortgage crisis. One news report quoted her as saying the bank would provide US$10 billion.
“While we do not anticipate the establishment of a regional facility and have not discussed commitments of funds at the regional level, numerous discussions with individual governments were held” at the meetings, Adams said.
The talks were “on the impacts of the financial crisis and possible ways we might be able to provide support at the country level,” he said.
The World Bank, Adams said, was supporting initiatives of ASEAN members to share information and develop a “coordinated response” to the financial crisis.
Aside from the Philippines, ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The region was embroiled in a serious financial crisis in 1997 to 1998 and some countries had sought IMF and World Bank help.
Although reforms in East Asian economies resulting from the crisis a decade ago made them more resilient to the impacts of the current global turbulence, they must be prepared to deal with any effects of the turmoil, Adams said.
The IMF said separately on Wednesday that it “supports the efforts of the ASEAN countries to strengthen regional cooperation to promote economic and financial stability.”
“While we see Asian economies as being well positioned to weather the current turmoil in financial markets, the IMF stands ready to provide funding quickly to its members who might need liquidity support,” a fund spokeswoman said.
“The fund will also be closely engaged in the discussions among the countries and multilateral institutions on the crisis response,” she said.
The World Bank also said on Wednesday that it had the financial capacity to “comfortably double” its middle-income lending arm to developing countries in case of any additional demand because of the turmoil.
Lending under the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development was US$13.5 billion last fiscal year.
The World Bank said its private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), was considering setting up a special fund that would provide equity to recapitalize small to medium-sized banks in poor countries with insufficient government capacity to help inoculate them from the global turmoil.
The IFC, it said, might contribute around US$1 billion and seek to raise another US$2 billion or more from sources such as commercial banks.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique