WORLD BANK FORECASTS GLOBAL ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

ARKA
Dec 10, 2008

YEREVAN, December 10. /ARKA/. The world financial crisis has dimmed
short-term prospects for developing countries and the volume of world
trade is likely to contract for the first time since 1982, the World
Bank (WB) said in the Global Economic Prospects (GEP) 2009.

GEP 2009 projects that world GDP growth will be 2.5 percent in 2008
and 0.9 percent for 2009. Developing countries will likely grow by
4.5 percent next year, down from 7.9 percent in 2007, while growth
in high-income countries will turn negative.

"People in the developing world have had to deal with two major
external shocks– the upward spiral in food and fuel prices followed by
the financial crisis, which has eased tensions in commodity markets,
but is testing banking systems and threatening job losses around the
world," said Justin Lin, WB chief economist and senior vice president.

"Urgent steps are needed to help reduce fallout from the crisis on
the real economy and on the poorest, including through projects that
build better roads, railways, schools, and health care systems."

In light of the crisis, the World Bank Group is increasing its support
for developing countries, including through new IBRD commitments of up
to $100 billion over the next three years as well as via its private
sector arm, the IFC, in the form of facilities for trade finance,
banking recapitalization, and fo r privately-funded infrastructure
projects facing financial distress.