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Unit 30 : UNCTAD, IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank
In fiscal year 2003 (which ended June 30, 2003), IDA commitments totalled $ 7.4 billion and it had Notes
paid out $ 7.0 billion. New commitments in FY03 comprised 141 new operations in 56 countries.
Fifty-one per cent of new commitments went to Sub-Saharan Africa, 28% to South Asia, 8% to East
Asia and the Pacific, 8% to Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and the remainder to poor countries in
North Africa and in Latin America.
Since 1960, IDA has lent $ 142 billion to 108 countries. Annual lending figures have increased steadily
and averaged about $ 7.4 billion over the last three years. Most loans address basic needs, such as
primary education, basic health services, and clean water and sanitation. IDA also funds projects that
safeguard the environment, improve conditions for private business, build infrastructure, and support
reforms to liberalize countries’ economies and strengthen their institutions. All these projects pave
the way toward economic growth, job creation, higher incomes and better living conditions.
IDA Funding
While the IBRD raises most of its funds on the world’s financial markets, IDA is funded largely by
contributions from the governments of the richer member countries. Their cumulative contributions
since IDA’s beginning up to the end of June 2003 totaled US $ 118.9 billion equivalent. Additional
funds come from IBRD’s income and from borrowers’ repayments of earlier IDA credits.
Donors get together every three years to replenish IDA funds. Donor contributions accounted for
more than half of the US $ 23 billion in the IDA13th replenishment which financed projects over the
three-year period ending June 30, 2004. The largest pledges to IDA13 were made by the United States,
Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy, but less wealthy nations also contribute
to IDA. Turkey and Korea, for example, once IDA borrowers, are now donors. Countries currently
eligible to borrow from IBRD (but not from IDA)—Argentina, Brazil, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Mexico, Poland, Russia, the Slovak Republic, and South Africa—are also IDA 13 donors. Other
contributors include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel,
Kuwait Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore Spain,
Sweden and Switzerland.
To increase openness and help ensure that IDA’s policies are responsive to country needs and
circumstances, representatives from each IDA region were invited to take part in the IDA 13
replenishment negotiations. The number of borrower representatives was further expanded—to a
total of nine—at the first meeting of the IDA14 replenishment negotiations, held in Paris in February
2004. As was the practice in IDA13, background policy papers will be publicly released, as will a
draft of the replenishment report prior to its finalization.
International Finance Corporation
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) promotes sustainable private sector investment in
developing countries as a way to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC is a member of the
World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, DC. It shares the primary objective of all
World Bank Group institutions : to improve the quality of the lives of people in its developing member
countries—IFC Mission Statement.
Established in 1956, IFC is the largest multilateral source of loan and equity financing for private
sector projects in the developing world. It promotes sustainable private sector development primarily
by :
• Financing private sector projects located in the developing world.
• Helping private companies in the developing world mobilize financing in international financial
markets.
• Providing advice and technical assistance to businesses and governments.
Ownership and Management
IFC has 177 member countries, which collectively determine its policies and approve investments. To
join IFC, a country must first be a member of the IBRD. IFC’s corporate powers are vested in its Board
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