Interview: Africa Yet To Feel Full Force Of Slowdown.

In an interview with Reuters, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Sub-Saharan Country Director Saleem Karimjee said, "Africa's economies are yet to feel the full force of a consumer slowdown in the West, which is likely to cause some corporate failures but nothing like on the scale of other regions... 'My concern in Africa is that the real sector will start to hurt, and it hasn't yet felt all of the impact of the crisis,' said Karimjee.... As the crisis evolves into a wider recession, affecting the spending habits of consumers in Europe and the US, any related African economy would feel a direct squeeze, Karimjee said. 'It's hard to predict -- how will the average family in the UK change their shopping behavior because of the crisis?' he told Reuters in an interview Tuesday, saying his views did not necessarily reflect the official ones of the IFC. 'Will they stop buying roses every week and buy them only two weeks and how will that affect the cut-flower industry in Kenya?' he said. 'This is the cycle I feel has not yet been fully experienced in Africa.'...

However, despite the occasional but inevitable failure in manufacturing and other industries, there was little risk of a domino-effect ripple through its still relatively unsophisticated banking system, Karimjee said. 'I don't think the banks are exposed to the extent that the few failures you will see in the real sector will cause them to crash,' he said...." [Reuters/Factiva]

World Bank's Zoellick Cautious On Global Outlook.

"There is still a high degree of uncertainty regarding the outlook for the global economy... World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday. Speaking at the start of a two-day International Finance Corporation (IFC) conference on global private equity, Zoellick said views on the world economy's health ranged from cautious optimism that the pace of decline was slowing to lingering concerns over low capacity utilization...." [Reuters/Factiva]

Dow Jones adds that "...still, Zoellick noted 'sighs of relief' among global leaders he has met with recently about signs that the global crisis may be easing. In particular, China's economy may 'surprise to the upside,' he said. Risks to the world economy include the need to fix financial sectors, Eastern and Central Europe, protectionism, tighter financing for the private sector, and unforeseen events like the swine flu, [Zoellick added]...." [Dow Jones/Factiva]

The Chosun Ilbo writes that Zoellick said "... 'China acted quite quickly and aggressively to stimulate demand, and has had some pretty good first quarter numbers.' [He added that] when you examine the numbers closely, the good news from China results mainly from government spending, and it remains to be seen when the country's private sector will boost its investments again...." [The Chosun Ilbo (South Korea)]