STORY: New Development Bank to expand use of local currencies
SHOOTING TIME: Aug. 30, 2024
DATELINE: Sept. 1, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:01
LOCATION: Cape Town
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. Table Mountain in Cape Town of South Africa
2. various of Cape Town International Convention Center (CTICC), venue of the 9th Annual Meeting of the New Development Bank (NDB)
3. various of attendees at the opening ceremony of the meeting
4. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): DILMA ROUSSEFF, President of New Development Bank
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DILMA ROUSSEFF, President of New Development Bank
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): DILMA ROUSSEFF, President of New Development Bank
7. various of attendees

STORYLINE:

The New Development Bank (NDB) is aiming to expand the use of local currencies to finance the sustainable development of emerging economies and developing countries, Dilma Rousseff, the bank's president, said on Friday.

Rousseff made the remarks at the opening ceremony on the second day of the 9th NDB Annual Meeting, held under the theme of "Investing in a Sustainable Future" on Aug. 29-31 in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa.

In her speech, Rousseff emphasized that emerging markets and developing countries face significant challenges in achieving sustainable development.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): DILMA ROUSSEFF, President of New Development Bank
"As we know, emerging markets and developing countries face significant challenges to achieve sustainable development. For us, a just transition requires a huge amount of resources and long-term financing."

Rousseff, however, noted that it seems unlikely to mobilize more investments to sustainable development without tackling the issue of indebtedness, which has become an excessive burden for developing countries.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DILMA ROUSSEFF, President of New Development Bank
"For that, we need to put in place some actions: one, it is necessary to channel the international liquidity to developing economies, to developing countries. It reduces the burden of high interest rates; second, develop alternatives, like financing local currency, to provide a wider fiscal space to invest."

"The use of local currency is, therefore, one strategic option," said the NDB president. "By promoting transactions in local currencies, we also facilitate investment growth, helping governments and the private sector overcome the cash flow mismatch between projects and financing. This approach provides greater predictability and reduces the high costs associated with hedging needs."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): DILMA ROUSSEFF, President of New Development Bank
"That is the reason why expanding the use of local currencies is one of the New Development Bank's strategic objectives for the 2022-2026 period. The bank is putting in place local currency sustainable development-oriented platforms and recognizes the urgency of making green financing available to the member countries. Therefore, it aims to provide 30 percent of total financing in the local currencies of borrowing members."

At the end of the opening ceremony, the NDB signed a 5-billion-rand (about 281.5 million U.S. dollars) loan agreement with Transnet, the South African state logistics company, to "support the modernization and improvement of South Africa's freight rail sector."

BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market cooperative mechanism that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Established in 2015 by BRICS countries and headquartered in Shanghai, the NDB is a multilateral development bank aimed at mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging market economies as well as developing countries.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Cape Town.
(XHTV)