"World Bank Top Officials Accused of Unfair Pressure to Boost China's Ranking"

Confirmed as Fact Through Analysis Report
US Treasury Department "Serious Consequences"

Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] An investigation has confirmed allegations that senior officials at the World Bank (WB) exerted undue pressure to boost China's ranking. The United States immediately expressed strong dissatisfaction with the investigation's findings.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. law firm WilmerHale released a report on the 16th (local time) concluding that top WB officials directly and indirectly applied excessive pressure to raise China's ranking in the 2018 Doing Business report and to improve other countries' rankings in the 2020 report.

Kim Yong, then President of the WB, and Kristalina Georgieva, then CEO of the WB and current Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), were identified as the main figures pressuring to raise China's ranking in the WB's Doing Business reports. The WB canceled the publication of the Doing Business reports for the relevant years.

The report concluded that former President Kim and then-CEO Georgieva held meetings with staff and led changes to the evaluation methodology to accommodate China's desire for a higher ranking in the 2018 Doing Business report.

At the time, the WB was reportedly seeking China's support for a large capital increase, according to foreign media. This has been seen as a typical case of pandering to China.

WB staff identified several ways to raise China's ranking. The WB gave China a favorable score citing the passage of laws related to secured lending transactions, and the report found that WB senior officials were satisfied with this.

As a result, China's ranking in the 2018 Doing Business report was raised from the planned 85th place to 78th place.

The report pointed out that WB staff knew these changes were inappropriate but did not oppose them out of fear of retaliation.

The WB, which provides development funding to underdeveloped countries, publishes the Doing Business report annually. Countries worldwide often compete to improve their own rankings.

The United States, which holds the largest share in the WB and IMF, immediately expressed concern. Alexandra LaManna, spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury Department, stated, "This has serious consequences. The Treasury is analyzing the report, and our responsibility is to maintain the integrity of international financial institutions."

The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. and former President Kim did not respond to the announcement. Managing Director Georgieva stated, "I do not agree with the report's assessment of my role."