W’Bank predicts slow growth over eurozone debt

 WORLD Bank’s Managing Director, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, has warned that the world will be in a difficult situation for both developing and developed economies in the coming year, as the eurozone debt turmoil continues to weigh on global growth,

Indrawati, a former Indonesian finance minister, who made this known while speaking at the CEO Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), said that the European situation would continue to dominate global attention, as it is affecting not only the eurozone but also other parts of the world.

Xinhua quoted her as saying that new financing efforts can only help the eurozone economies to tide over the crisis for the time being, but these economies need to focus on structural reforms to improve their long-term competitiveness.

Indrawati stressed that confidence can only be lifted by real action.

In this closely-interconnected world, it is difficult for developing countries to decouple from waning trade and investment demand in developed countries, she said, adding that communication and trust building among countries are important to expand cooperation and shore up global growth.

Several APEC meetings, including that of Economic Leaders, Ministerial, Finance Ministerial, Business Advisory Council and CEO Summit, are scheduled to be held in Honolulu this week.



Attribution: Compass, DailyTrust, Guardian & NewsWatch.