IMF: Four Latin American states less affected by global financial crisis

Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

BOGOTA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Colombia, Chile, Peru and Uruguay are the four Latin American countries less affected by the global financial crisis, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official was quoted by local press as saying on Thursday.

The IMF's director for the Western Hemisphere Nicolas Eyzaguirre, who was here to present a report, said the economies in the region will take less time to recover.

Compared with big regional economies like Brazil and Mexico, the four countries can recover faster because of their smaller manufacturing sectors, which have been heavily hit by the decline in export during the global financial crisis, Eyzaguirre said.

He said in particular Colombia is a "privileged" country with a solid macro economy. The IMF forecast zero growth this year and a 1.3 percent growth in 2010 for Colombia.

China's Big Four banks to launch insurance company

BEIJING, April 13 -- China's big four
state-controlled banks will be the first batch to run their own insurance
company in a pilot program, an official from the country's banking regulator
said at a forum on Saturday.

"We've reached agreement with the insurance regulator
on banks to set up their own insurance companies, and the big four banks will be
the first batch to run on a pilot basis," said Lai Xiufu, an official from the
China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

At a press conference in February, Li Kemu, vice
chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, told reporters that there
should be at least one insurance company launched by a bank approved this year.
The two regulators have now reached a consensus on the regulatory framework.

(Source: chinadaily.com.cn)