AP - The world's biggest economies are recovering from the Great Recession at troublesome speeds: too fast or too slow.
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Feeds in the Members' Diary of Development Network
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Snaptu: Developing economies' lead over rivals poses risks (AP)
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Thursday, March 24, 2011
Snaptu: China 'is to overtake US by 2030'
Monday, March 21, 2011
Snaptu: Watch: Economic 'He-covery' and the Race for Jobs
Snaptu: Poorest 'hit hard by recession'
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Snaptu: Google backs biomass fuel firm CoolPlanetBiofuels
The Value of Connected Savings (by Daniel Radcliffe, co-authors: Ignacio Mas)
The business case for low-balance savings is tough, as the margin on float may
not amount to much. In much of South Asia, the economics of savings for the poor
has been buttressed by microcredit – the notion that the account anchors the
customer relationship and the loan gives it profitability. But financial
inclusion premised on credit is always going to leave some people behind: those
who do not feel like credit is the right financial tool for them or who simply
do not have the ability to commit to future payment streams.
A new vision is emerging around integrating the savings proposition into a
broader payments network. Offering "connected savings" accounts rather than
stand-alone accounts helps the economics of low-balance savings in three ways:
First, it adds value to the account beyond the mere store of value, hence
increasing customer use and willingness to pay. If I can use my savings to
instantaneously send money home, pay school fees or buy goods at the store, I am
more likely to shift my savings into that electronic format. And if my payments
and wages are deposited electronically into my account, I may be more tempted to
leave the money in electronic form. But if all these payments can only be made
in cash, I am more likely to remain in the cash world.
Second, by connecting banks to retail shops, electronic payment systems allow
banks to delegate "last mile" cash handling functions to retail outlets. This is
the branchless banking or Business Correspondent (BC) vision, which allows basic
deposits and withdrawals to occur at much lower unit cost for the bank and at
much more convenient locations for customers. But stores would like to serve the
cash in/cash out needs of any of their customers, not just those who are with a
particular bank or mobile operator. To do this, stores must be able to make and
receive inter-bank transfers (to offset the cash exchanged with customers)
instantaneously at low cost. This level of convenience could unleash significant
customer willingness to sign up and pay for "connected savings" accounts.
Third, the infrastructure costs of operating banking and payment platforms can
be amortized over a much larger pool of transactions that go beyond savings.
These possibilities are now moving to the center of the debate in India, with
the recent launch of the Interbank Mobile Payments Services (IMPS) by the
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). IMPS is a 24x7 real-time payments
switch enabling low-value transactions between any two bank accounts. Customers
can send and receive payments using their mobile phone. With IMPS, the 690
million mobile phones in India could be used as a payment instrument very much
like a debit card. That's a world first.
Indian banks now have the possibility of working together to offer their
customers a convenient, low-cost way to send money to anyone with a mobile phone
and a bank account. This should be a big hook to drive take-up and usage of
accounts. To make this possible, banks will need to agree to very low
interchange fees on IMPS transactions and provide a simple and secure mobile
interface to their customers.
Will banks seize this opportunity, or will they give the game to the mobile
operators who, sooner or later, will find a way to assemble these payment
networks among their own customer bases?
For more Articles and Information: http://www.developmentnetwork.co.nr/
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
HSBC secures “Best Sri Lanka Deal 2010” for the country
Source: Daily Mirror-Sri Lanka
-By Development Network-
-By Development Network-
Over the past 4 years, HSBC has successfully raised financing in excess of USD
3 billion to finance projects such as Telecommunication Network expansion,
Highway and Bridge construction, Flyovers, Solar Irrigation, Electricity and
Port Development.
It is the only bank in Sri Lanka to have consecutively won 3 Bond mandates by
the Government of Sri Lanka starting with its inaugural issue in 2007 and
subsequently in 2009 and 2010.
The most recent, 2010 issue was a landmark transaction being Sri Lanka's first
USD 1 billion issue which saw a record subscription at a price of 6.25% for 10
year funds.
The success of these mandates were celebrated recently at the Finance Asia
awards held in Hong Kong recently, where the Assistant Governor of the Central
Bank of Sri Lanka, Siriwardena accepted the accolade "Best Sri Lanka Deal 2010"
for the US$1 Billion sovereign bond due in 2020.
"We thank Finance Asia for acknowledging this landmark transaction from Sri
Lanka. This is the 3rd Sovereign Bond that the Government of Sri Lanka has
issued and we are very proud of its success in the international market. Its
acceptance by the global investors demonstrated by the order book on the deal
only further reinforces the improving fundamentals of Sri Lanka," Siriwardena
said.
HSBC acted as Joint Lead Manager and Bookrunner of Sri Lanka's third
international sovereign bond of a USD 1 Billion 10 year issue with a coupon
rate of 6.25%. This attracted an order book that exceeded USD 6.3 billion
within 14 hours of opening on 27 September 2010, thereby being over-subscribed
more than 6 times, clearly underscoring the high global investor confidence
based on recent progress and the future prospects of Sri Lanka since the end of
the conflict in the country.
Nick Nicolaou, Chief Executive Officer for HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives said,
"HSBC has strong Debt Capital Market capabilities in Asia. With a team of over
300 Professionals in the region, we have secured this prestigious award for the
Government of Sri Lanka on its Benchmark Bond issue. We are committed to
support the Government and the corporate sector in various infrastructure
development projects in line with national level strategies and we expect a
flurry of activity in this space."
For more Information and Articles: http://www.developmentnetwork.co.nr/
Monday, March 14, 2011
Snaptu: Bad job vs no job: Which is worse?
With unemployment still high, job seekers who have been discouraged by a lack of work might be inclined to take the first opportunity they're offered. That will help pay the bills, but it could cause other problems: A new study suggests that some…
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Saturday, March 12, 2011
Snaptu: Japan Disaster Relief: Where to Give
Japan charity donations: With thousands of people feared missing and concerns about radiation leaks after an explosaion at a Japanese nuclear power plant, rescue and recovery efforts have already begun and are expected to last for months, with…
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Friday, March 11, 2011
Japanese earthquake: Eyewitness accounts
A massive earthquake has hit the north-east of Japan, triggering a tsunami that
has caused extensive damage.
Japanese television showed cars, ships and even buildings being swept away by a
vast wall of water after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake.
The quake has sparked fires in several areas including Tokyo, and numerous
casualties are feared.
Here BBC News website users in Japan recount their experience of the moment the
quake struck.
Mike Hall, Hokkaido
I live in Hakodate, which is on the southern most peninsular of Hokkaido.
We have been really lucky, my apartment was shook up for several minutes, a few
things fell over etc but there was no major damage.
It is very much like a swaying rolling motion, with jolts that really put the
fear of God in you.
Initially, I didn't pay any attention as we've had earthquakes before. But this
time, it went on for longer and there were several big aftershocks. The last
one was about an hour ago (1000 GMT).
Power and water supplies are fine at the moment and cell phones and the
internet seem unaffected. But we have a major tsunami warning in effect.
The bay area of the city has been flooded, though I'm not sure how badly.
We haven't had any visits from local emergency wardens or city officials. Most
of the information has come through the various news broadcasts
Yukiko, Tokyo
I have never felt such strong quake in my life.
Continue reading the main story
"Start Quote
I have never felt such strong quake in my life"End Quote
My flat is on the fifth floor (British fourth floor) and the building shook
slowly at first, then more and more violently. It was really scary.
TV is showing a fire in a tall building in the Odaiba area in Tokyo, and also
tsunami waves carrying lorries and cars. It looks like there are more fires
breaking out in Sendai, a major city in northern Japan.
Until a few minutes ago I was with neighbours who jumped out of the building
and shared what little information we had and consoled each other.
Lifts have stopped in our building, and I guess have in most buildings. There
are still aftershocks every few minutes.
Ryosuke, Tokyo
Although we're far from northern Japan, the quake here was very big.
Continue reading the main story
"Start Quote
The first quake was very long - everyone in the office was screaming"End Quote
The first quake was very long - everyone in the office was screaming. Then we
had another long one about 30 minutes after that. Paper and items were falling
off the desks. We can hear the walls. We can hear the walls going back and
forth.
Things have started to calm down now and some people have started to get back
to work.
Transportation has all stopped. The company has asked us to stay in the office.
Robert Koch, Tokyo
Everything that is meant to be inside is now outside. My beloved audio system
is trashed as is the CD collection.
Continue reading the main story
"Start Quote
My flat looks like a bomb has hit it"End Quote
Thank goodness it did not happen at midnight with my four-year-old son at home.
None of the trains here are running, buses seem to be fine and no-one here has
been hurt. It was just really scary being in a high-rise building during an
earthquake. My flat looks like a bomb has hit it.
There is almost a buzz of excitement around. I live about 20 minutes away from
central Tokyo. Being a South African, one is not very used to ground that
ripples and wobbles under your feet.
Jeffrey Balanag, Higashi-Shimbashi, Tokyo
The quake shook and rolled our building in Shiodome Sumitomo Building.
Continue reading the main story
"Start Quote
There is no panic but I am almost seasick from constant rolling of the
building"End Quote
We are stuck in our offices because elevators are stopped. We are watching the
TV which is showing the tsunami rushing landward.
The trains have been stopped. We can see Yurikamome Line and JR Yamanote Line
stopped.
We can also see fires. You can see the fires across the bay in the Odaiba area.
There is no panic but I am almost seasick from constant rolling of the
building.
For all Articles and Information: http://www.developmentnetwork.co.nr/
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Snaptu: LinkedIn launches social news product
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (Reuters) - LinkedIn, the Internet social network for professionals, launched a service on Thursday that creates a customized online newspaper from articles being shared by the network's more than 90 million members.
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Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Male domination in Lankan labour force, says UN
-(Source: Dailymirror-Sri Lanka)-
The United Nations (UN) in its International Women's Day message said yesterday
that although Sri Lanka had achieved significant progress towards equal rights
for women, the gap between the sexes in the country's labour force was the 20th
largest in the world.
It said the positive gender indicators in health and education had not always
translated into equal opportunities for women
The UN said: "Sri Lanka has achieved significant progress towards equality for
women with positive gender indicators in health and education; however, these
have not always translated into equal opportunities for women. The recent
progress report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Sri Lanka
highlights a range of inequities between men and women; one of the most
apparent being the labour force participation rate where Sri Lanka records the
twentieth largest gap in labour force participation between the sexes. The
participation of women in parliament continues to be low with only 5.7% of
parliamentarians being women.
"The 100th commemoration of International Women's Day stresses the importance
of equal access to education, training and science and technology to drive
economic growth, empower women and ensure the well being of their families,
their communities and nations. The UN calls on all nations to strive to ensure
the full and equal participation of women in all areas of public and private
life.
This year's theme -- equal access to education, training and science and
technology: pathway to decent work for women, is more important now than ever
before because wide differences within and across countries continue to persist
despite a closing gender gap in education. Women and girls continue to endure
unacceptable discrimination and violence often at the hands of intimate
partners or relatives. In the realm of decision-making, fewer than 10 per cent
of countries have female heads of state or government, and even where women are
prominent in politics, they are often under-represented in other areas of
decision-making, including at the highest level of business and industry.
The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his message said the use of
tools such as Internet and cell phone backed by education and training, could
help women to break the cycle of poverty, combat injustice and exercise their
rights.
"Only through women's full and equal participation in all areas of public and
private life can we hope to achieve the sustainable, peaceful and just society
promised in the United Nations Charter," Mr. Ban said.
For all Articles and Information: http://www.developmentnetwork.co.nr/
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
128 Million Of World’s Poorest Received microcredit in 2009: Report
-By Development Network-
More than 128 million of the world's poorest families received a microloan in
2009—an all-time high, according to The State of the Microcredit Summit
Campaign Report 2011 released today by the Microcredit Summit Campaign.
Assuming an average of five persons per family, this means that loans to 128
million poorest clients affected some 641 million family members, which is
greater than the combined population of the European Union and Russia.
Overall, more than 190 million people had a microloan in 2009; however, the
Campaign focuses on the 128 million poorest. In the 12 years since the
Campaign's founding, the number of very poor families with a microloan has
grown more than 16-fold from 7.6 million in 1997 to 128 million in 2009. The
report includes data from over 3,500 institutions with more than 93 percent of
the information collected last year and verified by a third party, the report
said.
"Microcredit has very effectively lifted millions of poor women and their
families out of poverty," said U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's
Issues Melanne Verveer. "With the 100th anniversary of International Women's
Day being celebrated on March 8th, it is gratifying to see that over 81 percent
of the very poor who received microloans were women – that is more than 100
million people. Women entrepreneurs are one of the smartest investments in
microfinance. Not only have they shown strong returns in the success of their
businesses, but they consistently have demonstrated high loan repayment rates
and they re-invest in their families and their communities."
To download the report (*pdf):
http://www.microcreditsummit.org/SOCR_2011_EN_EMBARGOED.pdf
Monday, March 7, 2011
Snaptu: IMF: Signs of overheating in emerging markets
Snaptu: Most economists say Fed easing is helping: survey
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Snaptu: Micro manoeuvres
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Snaptu: State-funded journalism – In whose interest?
Throughout its history, journalism has been kept by its cardinal principles of truth and objectivity. These principles continue to strengthen an enduring tradition by creating a powerful voice of progress. In the process, citizens are well-informed…
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