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China: The Big Spenders

Thanks to rapid urbanization and rising disposable incomes in their country, Chinese tourists spent $102 billion during their travels in 2012, more than any other nationality, making the Asian nation the world’s number one tourism source market, the United Nations

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WTO: China’s Role in Global Economic Governance

By WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy Extracts from his Speech delivered at the China Development Forum in Beijing, 24 March 2013 Few could possibly disagree that China’s economic performance since 1979 has been miraculous. A poor and inward-looking economy with a

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UNCTAD on Emerging Markets FDI Trends

Foreign direct investment (FDI) going into and out of the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – collectively known as BRICS – is mounting in global influence, according to a United Nations report released on March

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Arab Countries In Transition: Where are they Heading?

By Masood Ahmed Director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department “You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.­” — Egyptian Nobel Prize–winning author

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PM Shinawatra: Power through the Democratic Process

PM Yingluck Shinawatra easily survived a vote of no confidence in the Thai House of Representatives on November 28th this year. Polls also show her as having the confidence of the electorate as she ponders her first eighteen months in

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Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad says: “Face up to the New Economic Reality”

Dr Mohamad, an active man despite his 86 years, tends to lecture Europe on money matters. As a national developer of proven ability and great success we are inclined to at least listen. Our Hero from Malaysia has certainly done

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International Chamber of Commerce: G20 Openness Could Improve

Presenting pre-findings of an ICC Open Markets Index at an international business dialogue in Paris on March 4th, ICC Chairman Gerard Worms said that government authorities equipped with better information on their country’s market performance were better able to honour

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The International Financial Institutions: Collaboration for Development and Growth

Leaders of the African Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank Group pledged on February 26, 2013 close collaboration to support development and growth. The leaders emphasized the need

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IMF Support for Sri Lanka’s Economic Reform Programme

An IMF staff mission visited Colombo January 30 – February 13 to discuss possible financial support for Sri Lanka’s economic reform agenda under an Extended Fund Facility. The mission met with government and Central Bank officials, as well as representatives

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Frontier Asia and Hopes for More Inclusive Growth

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on January 28th held a conference in Bangkok, entitled “Frontier Asia: Economic Transformation and Inclusive Growth.” The conference brought together ministers, central bank governors, other senior policymakers and

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