Wolfowitz says not singling out China, India

London, Oct 30: World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said in a letter published on Monday he was not singling out China and India for their lending to indebted countries, following a report that he said gave this impression.

Wolfowitz, in a letter to the Financial Times on Oct. 24, said an interview published in French daily Les Echos -- and also published in the FT -- had been misleading.

''Unfortunately, that account gave the inaccurate impression that I was singling out China and India as particular problems when it comes to lending to what are called 'heavily indebted poor countries' in Africa,'' Wolfowitz wrote.

''That was the premise of the interviewer's question, but I said clearly: 'I think it is wrong to make it sound as if it's exclusively a problem of China and India.''' Last month China defended its lending to struggling African countries, saying its loans reduced poverty. This followed a statement from the Group of Seven economic powers that said donor countries should take into account debt sustainability in their lending practices.

''I was not attacking China, as your article states. In fact it is my hope that the banks can engage constructively with banks in China and other emerging economies to expand the use of the Equator Principles,'' Wolfowitz wrote.

The Equator Principles are a voluntary code of conduct under which projects financed by private banks meet social and environmental standards.

Wolfowitz said the full text of the original interview was available on the World Bank website: www.worldbank.org.

The FT said the Les Echos transcript of the interview could be read at www.ft.com.

Reuters