Announcement of the Bank Conducting a Fact-Finding Mission in the Philippines on December 31, 1947

INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT FOR THE PRESS FOR IMMEDIATE RELELE Press Release No. 73 December 31, 1947 At the invitation of the Philippine government, the International BI'nk for Reconstruction and Development is sending a small fact-finding mision to study economic and financial conditions in the Republic of the Philip- pines. The mission consists of Eric A, Beecroft, of the Bank's Loan Department and Jo Thomsen Lund of its Research Department. It will leave Washington January 1, 1948 and arrive in the Philippines approximately January 9, for a general survey of Philippine agriculture, industry, transport facilities, and financial structure. The Philippine government has not applied to the International Bank for a loan. The sending of a fact-finding mission is in accord with the Bank's policy of keeping itself informed at first hand of economic and financial developments in member countries and of establishing close contact with officials of member countries concerned with economic and financial affairs. Mr. Beecroft, a naturalized American citizen born in Toronto, Canada, was formerly a Special Assistant to the United States Secretary of the Interior. During the war he was a special ropresentctive in India of the United States Foreign Economic Administration. Mr Lund, author of sovoral books on agricultural economics, came to the International Bank from the United States Department of Agriculturg where he was a Marketing Specialist. He spent several years in the Far East and during the war he served as a commodity expert for both the Foreign Economic Administration and the Board of Economic Warfare,