World Bank President Barber B. Conable announced that the $74.8 billion General Capital Increase (GCI) for the Bank became effective today with the approval of governors representing more than the required 75 percent of total shareholder voting power. The approval today by Saudi Arabia, with 3.29 percent of the voting power, brought the total to 77.39 percent from 132 of the Bank's 151-member countries.
The GGI expands the Bank's capital base to give it the capacity to increase its lending over the next 5-6 years, by about 10 percent a year, to over $20 billion per year in the early 1990s.
The GCI, which was proposed by the Bank's Executive Directors on February 19, 1988, represents an increase of about 80 percent in the Bank's authorized capital and brings it to $171 billion. New subscriptions for this increase will be 3 percent paid-in and 97 percent callable. Subscriptions are envisaged over a five-year period, through September 30, 1993.
