US Recession To Impact African Growth: IMF Chief

  “The US recession will have a ‘significant’ impact on growth in the world's poorest continent Africa, IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn told AFP Wednesday.  

‘Lower growth rates in the US and in Europe translates into less trade and therefore lower exports for other countries. The crisis also has an effect through less traditional channels, such as stock markets and investment flows,’ Strauss-Kahn said during a vist to the Nigerian capital Abuja. …

Strauss-Kahn said the subprime crisis slow[ed] growth but urged African authorities to adopt sound economic policies to limit the damage, such as reserving part of their resources for long-term investments. He said the IMF must seek to prevent countries giving in to panic and ditching policies that have spurred high growth over the past five years. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Reuters adds that “… Strauss-Kahn said Nigeria, the world's eighth-biggest exporter of crude oil, had made a lot of progress in implementing a home-grown economic reform program and should resist future temptations to loosen the purse strings. … Strauss-Kahn said that despite the boom in oil revenues due to high prices on world markets, Nigeria should resist the temptation to over-spend. … [He] said Nigeria would do well to diversify its economy away from oil and gas. He said the best strategy would be to harness the revenues from energy to help develop a network of small and medium businesses in other sectors. …” [Reuters/Factiva]   

AFP notes that “… Strauss-Kahn kicked off his first Africa tour as IMF chief in Burkina faso on Monday. Thursday morning he will head for Tanzania, the last leg of his trip.” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]  

'Vaccine Bond' Scheme Turns To Japan For Next Offer

  “A pioneering scheme to tap capital markets for funds for life-saving vaccines has picked Japan for its next offer of bonds that have already been bought by rock stars and even Pope Benedict XVI.  

The International Finance Facility for Immunization (IFFIm) will offer its ‘vaccine bonds’ to Japanese investors next month as part of efforts to unlock long-term donor pledges of $4 billion, officials said Wednesday. The offer follows a first foray into the capital markets in London in November 2006 that raised $1 billion from investors including religious leaders and rockers-turned-activists Bono and Bob Geldof. The initiative, launched in September 2005 by Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden, aims to immunize 500 million additional people against preventable diseases in 70 of the world's poorest countries by 2015. ...” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Jiji Press reports that “…Money raised through the bonds will be donated to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, known as the GAVI Alliance, a public-private global health partnership launched in 2001 to immunize children in impoverished countries.  

IFFIm pays interest and redeems bonds with funds pledged by donor countries. IFFIm presently has seven donor countries … which have pledged to provide a total of $5.2 billion by 2015. … IFFIm provides funds for vaccinations against such diseases as measles, yellow fever, polio and tetanus, in such African countries as Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia and Somalia, as well as Asian countries including Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam.” [Jiji Press English News Service/Factiva]  

Faster Progress On Energy Efficiency Needed In Brazil, China, India - World Bank

  “The World Bank said without significant gains from energy efficiency efforts, China, India and Brazil will more than double their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.  

In its new book Financing Energy Efficiency: Lessons from Brazil, China, India, and Beyond  the lending agency said by 2030, China, Brazil and India will be responsible for 42 percent of growth in energy demand worldwide. World Bank energy economist Bob Taylor said, ‘What we found is enormous untapped potential - especially in Brazil, China and India -- but plenty of good solutions that can work as long as the financing and investment environment is in place and theres plenty of commitment from policy makers.’ The book says the main obstacle to getting energy efficiency off the ground, is inadequate organisational and institutional systems and accessing the necessary funds. …” [AFX International Focus/Factiva]

Poorest Hit Hardest By Climate Change, Must Act Now: World Bank

  “The world’s poorest countries will be hit hardest by climate change … the World Bank warned in an annual environment review Wednesday.  

But the World Bank also said tackling global warming could provide opportunities for long-term economic progress in developing countries by improving efficiency, coastal protection and agricultural production methods. The Environment Matters review - an annual series of articles and case studies of environmental impacts on the world's regions - said that development and global warming are inextricably linked and urged industrial nations to contribute more aid to the poorest regions of the globe to help them adapt.  

‘We can't let climate change turn back the clock of progress for these countries,’ Warren Evans, the World Bank’s director of environment, said in a statement. The global lender plans to issue an action plan on tackling climate change and financing adaptation measures at an annual joint meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in October. …” [Trend News Agency (Azerbaijan)/Factiva]

Meanwhile, in other climate-related news, AFP writes that “The Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations and the European Union have made greater strides this past year than previously in meeting their commitments to stem global warming, said a report Wednesday. ‘This year, compliance has increased noticeably across climate-related commitments,’ said the G8 Research Group's annual compliance report. The research Group based at the University of Toronto evaluated whether or not commitments made by the eight nations at talks in June 2007 in Heiligendamm, Germany, have actually been met. … It looked at 23 key commitments out of 329 in the areas of trade, poverty, disease, energy, security, nuclear nonproliferation, and climate change. … The final results revealed that the EU has done the most to fulfill its Heiligendamm commitments. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

EU Sets Out Code Of Conduct Plan For Sovereign Wealth Funds

  “The European Union announced a proposal Wednesday calling on sovereign wealth funds to voluntarily introduce a code of conduct to ensure that they do not act as investment vehicles for the political goals of foreign governments.  

The proposal, the first of its kind in the world, came amid the growing presence of SWFs in global financial markets, where they have bailed out major US and European financial institutions hit hard by the US subprime mortgage crisis. The European Commission, the executive body of the EU, demanded that SWFs adopt a set of principles to ensure the transparency of funding resources and investment policies as well as reciprocity of investments and loans, according to informed sources. …” [Kyodo News (Japan)/Factiva]

AFP reports that “… According to the commission, sovereign wealth funds now hold $1.5 to $2.5 trillion in assets worldwide, with one estimate suggesting that could rise to $12 trillion by 2015. …

In particular, the commission called on EU nations to support international efforts already underway aimed at setting out a code of conduct that would ensure transparency about the investments. … ” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

WSJ writes that “… The International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are both working on codes of conduct for sovereign-wealth funds and the countries that receive their investments. … The US, which has a law that allows the government to restrict foreign purchases of US assets if deemed a national-security risk, is also urging the creation of a code of conduct. European Commission officials hope to force greater visibility into the workings of the often opaque funds. …” [The Wall Street Journal/Factiva]   

FT adds that “… Under the Commission’s proposals, which require approval from EU leaders at a summit on March 13-14, the funds would be asked to make public the size and source of their assets, the currency composition of their investments, and the regulation and oversight under which they operate in their home country. The funds would also be asked to issue ‘an investment policy that defines the overall objectives of SWF investment’ and to provide ‘public disclosure of the general principles of an SWF’s relationship with government authorities.’ …” [The Financial Times]

Also in this Edition: Briefly Noted...

Briefly Noted… The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday it had postponed a decision on a vital three-year economic program with Congo subject to further talks. "The new triennial program with the IMF could be agreed in June 2008, if discussions under way go on in the right direction," Brian Ames, head of the IMF Africa Department said late Tuesday after a two-week trip. Initially, the government in the vast central African country had hoped to reach an agreement in March, but Ames said further talks would take place during IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington in April. [Dow Jones/Factiva]  

French President Nicholas Sarkozy arrived in South African city of Cape Town on Thursday… South Africa's energy crisis is expected to feature high on the agenda, with South African President Thabo Mbeki seeking co-operation from his counterpart along with increased French investment in the transport, energy, automotive and aeronautical sectors. The two leaders are also expected to discuss reform of the United Nations and the Bretton Woods international financial institutions. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

The president of oil-rich Nigeria is expected to deepen his nation's energy ties with China when he meets the Chinese leadership Thursday, marking another phase in Beijing's overtures to Africa. President Umaru Yar'Adua arrived in China on Wednesday night for a four-day trip that officials said was expected to add momentum to a bilateral trade partnership that tripled in value in the three years to 2006. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

The fourth round of UN-sponsored talks on the Western Sahara's future status has been rescheduled to March 16-18 in suburban New York, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said Wednesday. The talks, which were initially planned for March 11-13, will involve Morocco, Western Sahara's Algerian-backed Polisario independence movement as well as representatives of Algeria and Mauritania. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Russia's natural-gas monopoly warned it will reduce shipments of gas to Ukraine by 25 percent next week unless Kiev signs documents on paying its debt and authorizing gas delivery, Sergei Kupriyanov, a spokesman for OAO Gazprom, said in remarks shown on Russian television. Most of the gas imported by Ukraine comes from Central Asia through pipelines operated by Gazprom, which recently has sold Russian gas to Ukraine to make up for shortfalls from Central Asia. [The Wall Street Journal/Factiva]

A drugs firm asked Indian officials for permission Thursday to make cheaper generic copies of cancer drugs for export to poor countries in a case watched closely by global pharmaceutical giants. Indian firm Natco Pharmaceuticals made the plea for the country's first so-called "compulsory licence" to the patent office as it bids to make generic copies of Pfizer's Sutent and Roche's Tarceva cancer drugs. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

The head of the World Food Program will lobby US officials this week to expand food aid contributions to help offset soaring food and oil prices that have shriveled needed relief for hungry nations. Josette Sheeran, head of the Rome-based United Nations organization, will canvass administration officials, members of Congress, and others in a US mission that begins on Wednesday, the WFP said in a statement, as she seeks to fill a $500-million shortfall for 2008 food aid donations. [Reuters/Factiva]

Wheat prices plunged as much as 11 percent Wednesday, retreating from a record high in Chicago, on expectations that the world's farmers would plant more to take advantage of prices that have doubled in the past year. Corn and soybeans also fell. [The International Herald Tribune/Bloomberg News]

Ten UN agencies launched a new campaign on Wednesday at an annual meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women to end female genital mutilation, urging governments to help abolish a practice they said remained widespread in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. [Reuters/Factiva]