These bonds were supposed to help fight diseases like coronavirus. They’ve never paid out
CNNLondon CNN Business — Three years ago, the World Bank issued new bonds to raise funds that could be used to help poor countries fight pandemics. Investors are now preparing for the possibility that the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China will continue to spread, triggering a payout to the World Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility. Former World Bank chief economist Larry Summers, another prominent critic, has publicly dismissed the initiative as “financial goofiness” and an “embarrassing error.” According to a World Bank spokesperson, the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility has paid $61.4 million to fight Ebola in the DRC. Payouts from the World Bank’s pandemic bonds will be triggered if, at least 12 weeks after the start of the outbreak, the number of confirmed cases is still growing and the virus has killed at least 20 people outside China, according to Scott Lothian, an investment manager at Baillie Gifford, one of the investors in the bonds.
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Bonds to counteract virus fallout
China Daily
Bonds to counteract virus fallout
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