CHINA-WORLD BANK: CHINA MISUSES INFLUENCE TO BOOST ITS RANKING IN WORLD BANK'S 'DOING BUSINESS 2018' REPORT
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A report, prepared by law firm WilmerHale at the request of the World Bank's ethics committee, raises concerns about China's influence at the World Bank. It stated that World Bank leaders, including then-Chief Executive Kristalina Georgieva, applied "undue pressure" on staff to boost China's ranking in the bank's "Doing Business 2018" report. The report, released on September 16, raised concerns about China's influence at the World Bank, and the judgment of Georgieva - now managing director of the International Monetary Fund -- and then-World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. Georgieva said she disagreed "fundamentally with the findings and interpretations" of the report and had briefed the IMF's executive board. The World Bank Group on September 16 canceled the entire "Doing Business" report on business climates, saying internal audits and the WilmerHale investigation had raised "ethical matters, including the conduct of former Board officials, as well as current and/or former Bank staff." The U.S. Treasury Department, which manages the dominant U.S. shareholdings in the IMF and the World Bank, said it was analyzing what it called the "serious findings." The report said Georgieva visited the home of a "Doing Business" manager to retrieve a hard copy of the final report that reflected changes that boosted China's ranking, and thanked the employee for helping "resolve the problem."
(Comment: The World Bank in 2018 announced a $13 billion-paid in capital increase that boosted China's shareholding stake to 6.01% from 4.68%.)
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