News
Tonga shuffles cabinet, names new finance minister
The governor of the National Reserve Bank of Tonga has been appointed finance minister of the tiny South Pacific island nation. Siosiua 'Utoikamanu replaced Tutoatasi Fakafanua in the finance portfolio in a wider shake-up of Tonga's 11 member all-male…
Turkey 2001 FDI 'at least' $4bn - ctrl bk governor
Foreign direct investments into Turkey this year will total "at least $4 billion," Turkish central bank governor Gazi Ercel said Jan. 29. This "very high" level of funds will come from the sale of assets including mobile phone licenses by mid-February…
MAS issues insider trading law for consultation
Singapore revealed changes to insider trading laws that will penalize anyone who trades on the insider information regardless of whether the accused has any links to the company. The Monetary Authority of Singapore, the markets regulator and central bank…
Swedish cbank signals steady rates as growth slows
Euro-outsider Sweden's central bank signalled on Jan. 29, 2001, its key repo rate would remain on hold at 4.00 percent, 75 basis points below the euro zone's steering rate, at this week's monetary policy meeting. Riksbank Governor Urban Backstrom said in…
Bank of Israel cuts Feb discount rate 30bp to 7.7%
The Bank of Israel said on Jan. 29, 2001, it would lower its discount rate for February by 30 basis points to 7.7% from 8%, saying inflation would be between 1% and 2.5% in 2001. The move is at the top end of forecasts for a cut of between 20 and 30…
Slovak c.bank says no room now for rate cuts
The Slovak central bank (NBS) said its board had left interest rates unchanged at a monetary policy meeting on Jan. 29, 2001, and that potential risks to consumer price growth left no room for rate cuts at present. The bank board said it did not see…
IMF to start exploratory talks with Romanian govt
The IMF will visit Bucharest in early February to discuss with the newly elected Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase how he plans to reduce inflation, restructure state-owned industries and create a healthier financial-banking system, the daily…
Indonesia bankers still unclear on forex rules
Indonesia's foreign bankers said a meeting with central bank officials late on Jan. 29, 2001, did little to clarify foreign rules which have baffled the market for two weeks. They said the bank promised to issue a circular within the next two days…
UK's CrestCo goes electronic
London's international settlement house, CrestCo, is proposing to take the risk and cost of errors out of processing takeovers in the UK by replacing the paper form-filling with an electronic process. The proposals for Takeover Procedures in Crest,…
Thai central bank cuts 2001 growth forecast
Thailand's central bank cut its forecast for 2001 gross domestic product (GDP) growth on Jan. 29, 2001, to 3-4.5 percent from a previous projection of 4-5.5 percent, blaming a U.S. economic slowdown and a faltering domestic recovery. "The evident…
BOJ Hayami-economy moderately recovering
Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami reiterated Jan. 29 that while the economy is gradually recovering, the pace of growth is slowing due to a fall off in exports. "The economy continues to moderately recover, but the tempo is easing due to a…
Taiwan will adopt loose monetary policy
Taiwan central bank governor Perng Fai-nan said on Jan. 29, 2001, the bank would adopt an "appropriately loose" monetary policy, and would consider following suit if the U.S. cuts rates at the end of the month. The central bank would also fully supply…
Malawi launches SADC fund for the poor
Malawi has launched an ambitious 15m pound sterling fund for projects targeting the poor in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The Financial Deepening Challenge Fund (FDCF), sponsored by the Department for International Development of the…
Bank of Canada forecasts 3 percent growth
The Bank of Canada estimates the Canadian economy will expand by 3 percent in 2001 after growing at a rate of 5 percent in 2000, Deputy Governor Sheryl Kennedy said on Jan. 29, 2001. "The Canadian economy has been performing well in recent years and we…
Egypt to value pound vs currency basket eventually
Egypt's Economy and Foreign Trade Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali said on Jan. 29 the Egyptian pound would eventually be valued against a basket of currencies, rather than the dollar as now."We are waiting to move to a basket of currencies when the time…
Mauritanian govt reshuffled, new cbank governor
The Mauritanian president decreed a partial government reshuffle on Jan. 28, 2001, in which the central bank governor, Mohfoudh Ould Mohamed Ali, was appointed finance minister. According to Mauritanian TV on the night of Jan. 28, the new central bank…
Sri Lankan president says rupee float was timely
President Chandrika Kumaratunga said on Jan 28, 2001, the flotation of the Sri Lankan rupee helped avert a possible economic crisis and added there would be an intervention if the currency fell too steeply. Speaking on a Sinhalese-language television…
Dutch cbank scores high in research
The 12 central banks which make up the European central banking system should compete more among themselves. And improvement of each bank's research team will increase the influence of the president of the relevant bank, according to Sylvester Eijffinger…
Russia cbank chief sees few results from IMF visit
Russia's central bank chief said on Jan. 27, 2000, he expected little from a visit to Moscow by an IMF mission next week, although agreement with the Fund is needed for Russia to start restructuring talks with the Paris Club. He also saw no reason why…
IMF to cut world growth forecast sharply
The deputy head of the International Monetary Fund said on Jan. 27, 2001, the IMF may cut its 2001 world growth forecast to around 3.5 percent from 4.2 percent and warned Japan had little scope to spur growth soon. Stanley Fischer, first deputy managing…
ECB rates on hold for now, Fed moves key - Welteke
The European Central Bank's interest rate policy is on hold for the time being, though another sharp cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve would force European policymakers to carefully assess their stance, Bundesbank President ECB board member Ernst Welteke…
Egypt money market authority on falling shares
Commenting on the fall in stock prices during the year 2000, an Egyptian official has said that despite the decline, bills and bonds portfolios had achieved a substantial growth rate. He explained that stock prices had fallen because of the negative…