* Developing nations seek sole candidate
* BRICS to have joint support decision as soon as Friday
* Russia backs U.S. nominee Kim
By Lesley Wroughton and Tiago Pariz
WASHINGTON/BRASILIA, April 13 (Reuters) – Former Colombian
finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo is set to withdraw his
nomination for the World Bank presidency on Friday as developing
nations try to coalesce around one nominee to challenge the
United States for the job, three sources said.
Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala would remain
as the sole candidate from developing nations in a race against
U.S. nominee Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American health expert who
appears almost certain to win the post.
In a straw poll earlier this week, World Bank directors
representing the Group of 11, which includes emerging countries
and Australia, backed Okonjo-Iweala as the sole emerging market
candidate, the sources said.
The decision to back Okonjo-Iweala does not mean that all
developing countries will support her in the final decision on
Monday when the World Bank board meets to find consensus on a
successor to Robert Zoellick, who is departing in June.
Indeed, the promise of a united front from emerging markets
evaporated on Friday when Russia said it would support Kim,
becoming the first major emerging economy to do so.
Continued…
