World Bank

The World Bank has announced the 13-month debarment of Germany’s Ferrostall Oil & Gas (FSOG), an engineering, procurement and construction contractor for oil, gas and other industrial plants. It is in connection with an alleged fraudulent practice under the Bank-financed Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management Project in Myanmar. The ...

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a US$57 million project to help Lao PDR promote sustainable forest management, improve protected area management, and enhance livelihoods opportunities in eight provinces across the country. Project funding comes from the World Bank’s International Development Association, ...

The Lao PDR and the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) have signed an agreement to provide up to $42 million between now and 2025 to support the country’s efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). A ceremony today marked the launch of this ...

A new World Bank report links declining student performances in reading and stagnation in maths and science scores to inequality and inefficiency of investment across Thai schools. School closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic may accelerate these trends, warns the report released on Wednesday (December 9). ...

The Ministry of Planning and Investment, in coordination with the World Bank, held a conference on November 26 to seek ideas and consultations from leaders of Mekong Delta localities, experts and scientists for the delta’s Integrated Regional Master Plan in 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050. The draft master plan ...

Vietnam is set to receive tens of millions of dollars to help it keep a promise not to cut down trees, part of a controversial World Bank program that critics say does not produce its intended effect — carbon emission reductions. The Southeast Asian nation has ...

IFC’s pandemic response is focused on reaching the most vulnerable people in developing countries. Of the US$8 billion in IFC COVID-19 fast-track financing approved by the IFC Board in March 2020, US$4 billion has been committed to date, of which close to half is expected to benefit people ...

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors last week approved US$40 million in emergency finance support for small and medium-sized businesses in Laos to help them recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank said in a press release. The funding will be channelled ...

Thailand signed a US$5 million grant agreement with the World Bank today in support of reducing the import and use of ozone-depleting chemicals by 2023 by more than 60 percent, as part of the country’s obligations under the Montreal Protocol. Thailand is one of the world’s ...

The Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s agriculture hub, needs $4.7 to $6.7 billion in 2021-2025 for smart projects to tackle climate change, the World Bank says. A report released by the bank last week says there are considerable opportunities for further development of the Mekong Delta region, which ...