World Bank-IFC Report Finds Government Reforms Enhance Economic Opportunities for Women, but Greater Strides Needed



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Press Release No:2012/093/IFC
Washington, September 26, 2011—A new report from the World Bank and IFC released today finds that women still face legal and regulatory hurdles to fully participating in the economy.

Women, Business and the Law 2012: Removing Barriers to Economic Inclusion finds that while36 economies reduced legal differences between men and women, 103 out of 141 economies studied still impose legal differences on the basis of gender in at least one of the report’s key indicators. The report also identifies 41 law and regulatory reforms enacted between June 2009 and March 2011 that could enhance women’s economic opportunities.

Globally, women represent 49.6 percent of the population but only 40.8 percent of the workforce in the formal sector. Legal differences between men and women may explain this gap. The report shows that economies with greater legal differentiation between men and women have, on average, lower female participation in the formal labor force.

“Competitiveness and productivity have much to do with the efficient allocation of resources, including human resources,” said Augusto Lopez-Claros, Director, Global Indicators and Analysis, World Bank Group. “The economy suffers when half of the world’s population is prevented from fully participating. It is certainly no surprise that the world’s most competitive economies are those where the opportunity gap between women and men is the narrowest.”  


01/10 Japan's Nikko Asset Management seals alliance with DBS Bank



SINGAPORE (Kyodo) -- Japan's Nikko Asset Management Group and Singapore's DBS Bank Ltd have struck an alliance deal that will create Asia's largest regional asset management firm, the two companies said Friday in a joint statement.

Under the deal, Nikko Asset Management Group has acquired DBS Bank's subsidiary in Singapore, DBS Asset Management, for S$137 million Singapore dollars (US$104 million).

DBS Bank has in turn acquired a 7.25 stake in the expanded Nikko Asset Management Group, forming a strategic alliance between the two companies.

The deal will boost the assets managed by Nikko Asset Management Group by US$7.9 billion to over US$165 billion, propelling it as the largest regional asset manager headquartered in Asia.

The Nikko Asset Management Group's subsidiary in Singapore will merge with DBS Asset Management to become Nikko Asset Management Asia, a company that will offer investment management in Asian equities and Asian fixed income.

As part of the deal, the Japanese firm will own a 30 percent stake in Hwang-DBS Investment Management Berhad and a 51 percent stake in Asian Islamic Investment Management Sdn. Bhd, both in Malaysia, and 100 percent of DBS's Hong Kong subsidiary.

Nikko's investment products can be distributed throughout DBS' network of core markets in the region.

(Mainichi Japan) October 1, 2011