Latest news with #Washingtonlender
The National
09-08-2025
- Business
- The National
World Bank approves $650m loan to help Turkey manage disasters and revive economy
The World Bank has approved a $650 million disaster management loan for Turkey, a key step to help the country revive its economy. The loan facility will support the Istanbul Resilience Project, a long-term programme introduced last year and intended to protect economic activity, livelihoods and residents in the country's largest city, the Washington-based lender said in a statement on Friday. World Bank data shows that Istanbul, home to about 15 million people, contributes a third of Turkey's gross domestic product, and any vulnerability from natural disasters, including earthquakes and climate shocks, would impede its progress, it said. 'The project will help to ensure that key public services can function during and after disasters, protect communities, and preserve economic continuity in the event of a major emergency,' the World Bank said. The project has four pillars: emergency preparedness and response, public building resilience, technical assistance and contingent emergency response. The last one, in particular, is dedicated to the rapid reallocation of project funds in the event of an emergency to support urgent recovery and reconstruction needs, the World Bank said. 'This project is vital to safeguard Istanbul's people and economy,' said Humberto Lopez, the World Bank's country director for Turkey. 'By strengthening emergency preparedness, modernising public infrastructure and supporting community resilience, Turkey is building a safer future for one of its most strategic provinces,' he added. Turkey has embarked on a major economic revival programme following years of flagging activity, including battling chronic inflation in 2024. Ankara has made moves to implement an turnaround, including raising interest rates to tame inflation – which have since steadily gone down – creating a new economic team and appointing a new central bank chief. Maintaining or building new infrastructure will be central to the economic plan: the World Bank said that with Istanbul's public building stock ageing and emergency response capacity under strain, 'this investment will help ensure faster and more effective disaster response while strengthening infrastructure against seismic and climate hazards'. 'Ultimately, the project aims to protect millions of people and ensure the continuity of vital services across Istanbul,' it said. This week, Turkish and Syrian business leaders convened to strengthen economic ties, with the head of the newly re-established Syria-Turkey Business Council saying that any fears about co-operation should be set aside in order to reap mutual benefits. In May, Turkey said it was seeking more UAE investment in artificial intelligence amid a strengthening of relations between the two countries. Turkey has also received credit rating upgrades from major agencies – including Moody's first such move in a decade – as they acknowledged the impact of the government's rebalanced economic strategy, improved governance and the tight monetary stance that has helped stabilise the nation's economy.
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Argentina Reaches IMF Staff Agreement to Unlock $2 Billion
(Bloomberg) -- Leer en español Trump Awards $1.26 Billion Contract to Build Biggest Immigrant Detention Center in US The High Costs of Trump's 'Big Beautiful' New Car Loan Deduction Can This Bridge Ease the Troubled US-Canadian Relationship? Salt Lake City Turns Winter Olympic Bid Into Statewide Bond Boom Trump Administration Sues NYC Over Sanctuary City Policy Argentina reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund staff on the first review of the country's $20 billion program, a vote of confidence for President Javier Milei ahead of midterm elections in October. Pending approval by its executive board, the IMF would disburse $2 billion to Argentina, according to a statement from the Washington lender Thursday evening. The executive board plans to meet before the end of July to vote on the first review, the IMF added. As part of the agreement, IMF staff praised how 'smoothly' Argentina's transition to lifting many capital and currency controls has gone, while noting they reached an understanding with government officials on 'continuing to enhance the clarity and functioning of the monetary framework,' among other goals. The country's dollar bonds rose across the curve on the news, with notes maturing in 2035 jumping almost 0.6 cents on dollar to trade above 65 cents, according to indicative pricing data compiled by Bloomberg. This marks the first review under the program granted to Milei's libertarian government in April, which made available an unusually large $12 billion chunk of the financing upfront. Under the agreement, Argentina has significantly relaxed currency and capital controls, which have been in place to varying degrees since 2019. The peso now floats in a target band and individuals can buy dollars without restrictions, while companies are allowed to send dividends earned this year abroad. However, companies are still restricted from buying dollars at the official exchange rate, while dividend payments from previous years remain trapped in the country. Through June, Argentina had struggled to build up foreign currency reserves since the start of the program as the government sought to prevent the peso from devaluing. It has mainly used bond sales and repurchase agreement with international banks to acquire reserves. In recent weeks, the Treasury has bought dollars to help build up central bank reserves due to its fiscal surplus. Argentina's economy is expected to grow 5% this year after contractions the past two years, according to the central bank's most recent survey of analysts. Monthly inflation in May cooled to its lowest level since the pandemic, only mildly accelerating in June. (Updates with dollar bond moves in fourth paragraph.) Burning Man Is Burning Through Cash Confessions of a Laptop Farmer: How an American Helped North Korea's Wild Remote Worker Scheme It's Not Just Tokyo and Kyoto: Tourists Descend on Rural Japan Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
