Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
Special Presentation of WB 2006 Global Development Finance Report
Asian Sites Enjoy Discussion with Report Authors
The World Bank's annual 2006 Global Development Finance (GDF) report was the focus of a special session at the TDLC on May 31, 2006, as connecting sites Indonesia, Vietnam, Mongolia and Thailand enjoyed a presentation given by the report's lead author, World Bank Lead Economist in Development Economics Mr.Mansoor Dailami and Manager of the Bank's Global Trends team, Mr.Hans Timmer.
This year's GDF was launched in Tokyo during the Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE). The TDLC event is a follow-up, giving a diverse audience in Asia access to the Bank's flagship report via videoconference. Economists, journalists, government officials, and development agency representatives gathered at each site to join the discussion.
Mr.Dailami began the session with a power point presentation on the report's findings; net private capital flows to developing countries reached a record high of $491 billion in 2005, South-South flows have become an important aspect of development finance and for the poorest countries, donors have enhanced their aid effort.
On the outlook for the global economy, Mr. Timmer explained that growth in developing economies is projected to remain strong despite higher oil prices, cautioning, however, that the external environment is becoming less supportive and developing countries are more vulnerable.
A question and answer session followed, focusing on south-south flows, global growth and global imbalances, government policy regarding "hot money", and the impact of China on the global economy.
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