World bank plans to strengthen multilateral lender's capital base

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said on Thursday that a plan to strengthen the multilateral lender's capital base does not specify reductions in loans to China or any other countries, but added that lending to lower-middle-income countries would expand over time.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said on Thursday that a plan to strengthen the multilateral lender's capital base does not specify reductions in loans to China or any other countries, but added that lending to lower-middle-income countries would expand over time.

"We're going to increase our lending to lower-income countries," Kim told a news conference about the plan to be discussed by the World Bank's development committee on Saturday. "Just to be clear on this, there is nothing in the agreement that targets any specific country."

Reuters reported last week that the USD 13.5 billion (9.51 billion pounds) capital increase for the World Bank's main concessional lending arm would lift China's voting power and shareholding in the institution and bring lending reforms.

The Trump administration has chided the World Bank's lending to higher-income countries such as China, saying they should "graduate" to non-concessional loans

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