The main body of the report is organized in two chapters with three supporting annexes. Chapter one focuses on recent economic developments in the real, fiscal and banking sectors, while providing a near term outlook that highlights critical challenges facing the Palestinian economy.
... See More + Chapter two provides input on a new vision for growth and job creation, with quantification of the potential gains. It contains critical messages for the GoI, the PA and the international donors on steps to create an environment conducive to the needed private sector investment. Annex one assesses the status of the World Bank recommendations to the AHLC meeting over the years, many of which relate to the constraints identified in chapter two. While there are developments, overall progress from the GoI and the PA has been minimal. Annex two provides an update on the disbursement of pledges made at the Cairo conference in October 2014 on reconstructing Gaza. Donor support by mid-July 2017, at 53 percent of Cairo conference pledges, had barely changed from the December 2016 position, and there are limited prospects of further contributions. Most of the gap can be attributed to the larger pledgers at the conference. Finally, annex three provides some methodological notes on the specifications of the CGE model and assumptions used to quantify the external and internal constraints.
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The development objective of the Access to Finance (A2f) Project for Jamaica is to improving access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and housing finance for the low and middle income households.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts are included : (i) Closure of MSMEs, fines or delays, escalation of costs for production, increased insurance cost; (ii) environmental pollution, loss of biodiversity or cultural resources; (iii) damage to cultural resources; (iv) reduced community safety, accidents and injuries to workers; (v) damaged reputation of MSME and lender from media coverage, citizen campaigns, government investigations; (vi) liability of SME and SME Fund, damaged reputation of MSME and SME Fund from media coverage, citizen campaigns, government investigations; (vii) degradation of asset value from social decline; Some of the mitigation measures are included : (i) provide liaison and guidance for regulatory and technical issues; (ii) ensure guarantee agreements include E&S requirements; (iii) capacity building activities, regulatory liaison, compliance technical support; (iv) property valuations screen for risks through screening checklist, disclose any E&S condition that poses a risk to the purchaser or lender, and which would affect the value of the home and property.
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This report contains the World Bank Group Boards' calendar for the period of August to October 2017, specifying the Boards' engagements, such as meetings and briefings.
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Turkey is an upper middle income country with a GNI per capita of USD 9,950 dollars in current US dollars (2015).The government set out its objectives in the Ninth Development Plan for 2007-13 and the 2012-14 Medium-Term Program.
... See More + Four priorities stood out: (i) pursue sound macroeconomic and structural fiscal policies to maintain stability and reduce vulnerabilities, (ii) improve the investment climate and labor market to increase competitiveness and create jobs, especially for women and youth, (iii) reform education, health service provision, and social welfare to increase productivity and promote equal opportunity, and (iv) continue reforms of energy and water sectors, and invest in increasing energy efficiency. In support of the government's objectives, the WBG Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) pursued reforms in three areas for enhancing competitiveness and employment, improving equity and public services, and deepening sustainable development. The CPS was extended by one year to include FY16, in part to allow the CPS period to be aligned with the political cycle, as parliamentary elections were scheduled for mid-2015.The CPS supported the government's priorities and was adjusted during the PLR to reflect changing priorities, although the adjustment was not robust enough to reflect economic vulnerabilities. The program areas were selective, but program objectives were unfocused owing to their many dimensions, which diminished the program's impact. Development policy operations and project lending were complemented by economic and sector work and technical assistance; however, the non-lending portfolio was spread thinly over many areas.In Focus Area 1, there was limited progress in increasing domestic savings and enhancing external resilience while progress was mixed on the investment and business climate objective. The objective on sustaining macroeconomic stability, domestic savings, strengthen exports and external resilience had multiple dimensions not reflected in the two outcome indicators that covered a narrow range of the objective. Corporate governance was improved through more extensive firm audits, and enhanced reporting and disclosure requirements. In Focus Area II performance was adequate, with some progress on gender equality and a more inclusive labor market, and evidence of improved equity in the provision of health services. While work remains to be done in health to improve client satisfaction, broad measures of health outcomes show progress in improving health outcomes during the program period. In Focus Area III, good progress was made in increasing the supply of energy and use of renewable energy, mixed progress on improving the sustainability of Turkish cities, and limited achievements in strengthening environmental management and adaptation to climate change.
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The World Bank Monthly Operational Summary (MOS) reports on the status of projects in the World Bank's pipeline from the time the operation is identified to the signing of the Loan, Credit, or Grant Agreement.
... See More + It is a detailed accountings of the projects included in the country lending programs that are actively being prepared for implementation. The lending programs reflect the Bank's strategy for each member country as set out in the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) presented to the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank. On average, it takes about 13 months for the Bank to process a project from concept to approval. After a financing agreement is signed or a project is dropped from the program, the project entry is deleted from this summary. Each issue of the summary contains a list of projects reported for the first time and the list of projects deleted from the current issue. Program. Familiarity with the Bank's project cycle, summarized in the following paragraphs, can help potential bidders identify business opportunities with Bank borrowers. Each entry in the MOS indicates at what point the operation is in the project cycle.
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This program document for the Second Capital Market Development and Small and Medium-Size Enterprise Finance Development Policy Loan Project has four pillars as follows : (i) Pillar A - Improve access to finance for small and young enterprises; (ii) Pillar B - Strengthen capital markets by improving the institutional framework and broadening the range of instruments; (iii) Pillar C - Improve the financial sustainability of the Caisse Marocaine des Retraites; and (iv) Pillar D - Strengthen oversight of the banking sector.
... See More + This program supports a private-sector-driven economic model, as well as resilience by helping micro, small, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) recover from the European Union’s (EU) economic slump and other recent economic challenges. The program is aligned with the World Bank Group’s Strategy for Middle East and North Africa, which sets an agenda of using development to promote peace and social stability.
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International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) provides regular updates of the lending rates and spreads applicable to its financing products as set out in the terms of each product.
... See More + The structure of lending rates and spreads applicable to IBRD loans can be categorized into two groups: (i) variable spreads over a market reference rate (reference rate), and (ii) fixed spreads over the reference rate. The spreads correspond to the most prevalent loan product, the IBRD flexible loan (IFL), which is offered as either: (i) IFL variable spread or, (ii) IFL fixed spread. The IFL resulted from consolidating the previously offered loan categories - variable spread loan (VSL) and the fixed spread loan (FSL) - in FY08. Since April 2017, the frequency of calculating the average funding spread component of the IFL variable spread is on a quarterly basis. The calculation frequency does not affect the schedule of loan interest rate resets, which for most loans occurs on loan repayment dates twice a year.
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This paper presents a bird’s eye overview of the investment policy and promotion (IPP) logical framework developed by the trade and competitiveness global practice of the WBG to address the challenge of how countries can use foreign direct investment (FDI) to advance their economic development.
... See More + The report sets out three key propositions: i.e. (i) that investment policy should aim not to choose between but connect domestic and foreign investors, (ii) that investment policy making should be based on the whole investment cycle going beyond promotion and (iii) that not all FDI is the same nor has the same development impacts. This sets out the logical framework for a concrete investment policy and promotion intervention in a time of globalization that will yield measurable results.
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The development objective of the State Owned Bank’s (SOB) Restructuring Program for Results for Tunisia will support key measures aiming at supporting directly and indirectly the restructuring of the SOBs.
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This report contains the World Bank Group Boards' calendar for the period of July to September 2017, specifying the Boards' engagements, such as meetings and briefings.
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The World Bank Monthly Operational Summary reports on the status of projects in the World Bank's pipeline from the time the operation is identified to the signing of the loan, credit, or grant agreement.
... See More + It is a detailed accounting of the projects included in the country lending programs that is actively being prepared for implementation. The lending programs reflect the Bank's strategy for each member country as set out in the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) papers and notes presented to the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank. On average, it takes about 13 months for the Bank to process a project from concept document to approval. After a financing agreement is signed or a project removed from the program, the project entry is dropped from this summary. Each issue of the Summary contains a list of projects being reported for the first time and a list of projects for which financing agreements have been signed or that have been dropped from the current program. Each entry in the monthly operational summary shows what point in the cycle a particular project has reached.
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This document has the purpose of identifying and describing actions that could aid in facilitating the financing of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through instruments channeled via the capital markets.
... See More + By way of precedent, it is worthwhile to mention the document ‘Argentina capital market assessment and development prospects’ of the World Bank (October 2016) where a diagnosis was performed (along with certain recommendations) of the Argentine capital markets in general and including sectoral aspects within which Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the capital market were analyzed. The structure of the document comprises the following sections: (a) characteristics of SME financing and the main obstacles they face; (b) analysis of proposals; (c) key players; (d) main conclusions; and (e) annexes including comparative country cases.
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Working Paper 117055 JUN 28, 2017
.org;; 000012349:John Daniel Pollner:jpollner@worldbankDisclosed
Argentina’s improved sovereign credit rating has helped to spur the recent sub-sovereign and corporate bond issues. In early April 2016, Standard & Poor’s upgraded Argentina’s sovereign ratings for local and foreign currency debt to B from B-.
... See More + This follows the ratings upgrade from Moody’s which raised Argentina’s sovereign rating for foreign currency denominated debt from C1 to B3 in 2016. This rating was re-affirmed by Moody’s in March 2017. Since Argentina’s re-entry into the international capital markets in early 2016, there has been USD 8.4 billion and USD 4.4 billion of bonds issued by sub-sovereign and corporate entities which is being used, in part, being used to support infrastructure projects. Although investor appetite has been relatively strong, it is difficult to ascertain the level of liquidity for sub-sovereign debt over the long-term. The potential level of involvement of foreign and local banks in the financing of infrastructure is still to be determined once Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) projects are tendered. Going forward, the issues that will impact the participation of lenders are: (i) the timing for completing and implementing the underlying regulatory framework for PPPs; (ii) the development of a project pipeline and subsequent tenders; (ii) macroeconomic conditions. The ability of the renewable energy projects under the RenovAR program to obtain bank financing will serve as useful benchmark for the rest of the PPP program. Although the enactment of the capital markets law is intended to reduce market inefficiencies, additional legislation, regulation and policies are needed to deepen and widen local capital markets. This law, which is still under legislative review, may not go far enough to develop the institutional investor base needed to provide long-term financing for infrastructure. Provisions could be added or new legislation could be developed which will: (a) encourage insurance companies to offer new types of products; (b) rebuild private pension systems by incentivizing the establishment of asset management companies; (c) providing preferential tax treatment for closed end mutual funds or value capture adjacent to real estate; (d) supporting the establishment of REITs; (e) reviewing the governance structure, mission, and investment strategy of the FGS; (f) support the development of long-term hedging instruments to manage currency risk through trusts or related mechanisms; and (g) promote the issuance of peso-linked bonds while developing a peso/dollar hedge market.
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Working Paper 117054 JUN 28, 2017
.org;; 000012349:John Daniel Pollner:jpollner@worldbankDisclosed
Ratings for the Local Government Strengthening Project for El Salvador were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was moderate, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: engaging with local communities for the preparation of municipal plans, as well as the identification and prioritization of strategic work and services ensured greater ownership of these planning instruments and local investments. At the same time, integrating communities in the supervision of works was critical to validate the technical, social, and environmental aspects of local investments, including budgeting needed resources for operations and maintenance of these works. Capacity building proved to be more important than the availability of financial resources for supporting municipalities. Despite having a 50 percent advance of the loan proceeds available for disbursement in their local accounts, municipalities experienced difficulties in utilizing these funds during the initial two years of implementation. Once procurement, technical and financial capacity was strengthened, municipalities were able to effectively implement prioritized investments in close collaboration with local communities, providing valuable infrastructure and services at the local level. The original project design included more support to central agencies for building systems and processes aimed at supporting municipalities. One of the project’s strengths was the important effort made to build technical and operational expertise at national institutions such as ISDEM and FISDL. In terms of sequencing, future efforts would benefit from first building capacity and systems at the central level and then working at the municipal level.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR4118 JUN 27, 2017
In Bank-financed operations, the Bank’s legal agreements with its counterparts contain tailored and operation-specific contractual terms. These agreements also incorporate the General Conditions, which reflect the Bank’s standard terms and conditions that do not vary from case to case.
... See More + The last major update to the GeneralIn Bank-financed operations, the Bank’s legal agreements with its counterparts contain tailored and operation-specific contractual terms. These agreements also incorporate the General Conditions, which reflect the Bank’s standard terms and conditions that do not vary from case to case. The last major update to the General Conditions took place twelve years ago. Since then, Executive Directors have approved number of IBRD and IDA-specific changes to these documents. The revised draft IBRD and IDA General Conditions include severalmodifications that emerged from LEG’s simplification exercise described in paragraph. These modifications permit greater use of electronic communications and signatures and give the Bank and its counterparts more flexibility with legal documentation. These changes will provide teams and counterparts with greater operational agility while ensuring that they proactively address legal risks. The IDA General Conditions include many revisions to reflect the recently adopted IDA18 framework. Additionally, the IBRD General Conditions are revised to incorporate certain financial pricing and policy changes that were previously approved by the Executive Directors.
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The development objective of the Development Finance Project for Nigeria is to increase the availability and access to finance for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through eligible financial intermediaries with the support of a new wholesale development finance institution.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (i) activities involving the risk of work performed by children;(ii) activities involving land acquisition and or restrictions on land use resulting in involuntary resettlement or economic displacement; (iii) industrial-scale activities in or near critical habitats; (iv) industrial-scale activities involving production,harvesting, or trade in wood or other forestry products from plantation and natural forests or wild fish and other aquatic species; (v) industrial-scale production trade, storage, or transport of significant volumes of hazardous chemicals or commercial scale usage of hazardous chemicals; (vi) production or activities that have adverse impacts, including relocation, on the lands, natural resources, or critical cultural heritage that are used as livelihoods by vulnerable and or historically underserved traditional local communities; and (vii) activities involving significant adverse impacts on critical cultural heritage.
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Ratings of First and Second Programmatic Financial Sector Development Policy Loans (FSDPL 1 and 2) Project for Ukraine were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, risk to development outcome was substantial, Bank performance was satisfactory, and Borrower performance was satisfactory.
... See More + Some of the lessons learned included: (i) The main positive difference seen in this operation in comparison to the previous crisis has been the ownership of reform by the authorities and commitment to its full implementation; (ii) The speed and quality of responsiveness from the international community, and cooperation and coordination among donors was also fundamental to the success of the reform program, given the urgency of the situation that Ukraine was facing; (iii) In particular, the ability to adjust policy actions and key indicators from the FSDPL1 to the FSDPL2, showed a degree of flexibility in the program design that contributed to its success; and (iv) The current financial sector reform program is a long term effort (going beyond the timespan of the FSDPL program) that requires continued ownership and commitment of the authorities at every level, and a lending operation has greater chances of achieving these objectives.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR4023 JUN 19, 2017
This paper provides practical guidance to central banks on accounting practices for their foreign reserves, in connection with the transition from International Accounting Standard 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement (IAS 39) to International Financial Reporting Standard 9 Financial Instruments (IFRS 9).
... See More + The IFRS 9 preparation process can be summarized in three steps: (1) business model assessment and cash flow characteristic test for classification, (2) impairment, and (3) transition and disclosure preparation. Relative to IAS 39, IFRS 9 is more principles-based, which requires substantive management judgment, such as defining the business model, assessing significance and impracticability in applying exceptions, and determining expected credit loss methodologies. This paper focuses on step 3, transition and disclosure preparation, with an overview of the IFRS 9 transition requirements. A case illustration of a central bank making the transition demonstrates how the process is likely to impact a central bank’s foreign reserve portfolio.
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