Washington  - The World Bank warned Sunday that developing countries face a huge financing gap amid the global recession, the development lender reported Sunday ahead of the March 14 meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs.

The Washington-based World Bank's projection is for the global economy to shrink in 2009 for the first time since World War II. World trade is heading for the steepest decline in 80 years, hitting East Asia hardest.

Hong Kong  - More than 3,000 Hong Kong-owned factories in southern China have been idled or closed as the global economic slump takes its toll, an industry leader said in an interview Monday.

Around 3,200 factories have remained closed since the Chinese New Year holiday because of a lack of business, according to Danny Lau, chairman of the Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association.

Bangkok  - Faced with falling exports, rising unemployment and negative growth, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Sunday named 2009 the "Year of Investment."

Addressing the nation on his weekly television show Sunday morning, Abhisit vowed to facilitate corporate investments in Thailand this year, the Thai News Agency reported.

Abhisit, 44, vowed to set up a "one-start, one-stop" centre, gathering with personnel from all government agencies under the prime minister's office, to speed up investments.

Gliwice, Poland  - The Gliwice mine in southern Poland no longer produces the coal that made the region known as an industrial powerhouse during communism. But it's hardly a relic of the past.

The mine's smoky bricks have been polished to a lively orange, and its interior renovated to house a business and education centre with a state-of-the-art lecture hall.

The city's mayor, Zygmunt Frankiewicz, says Gliwice is a symbol of the changes in the coal-rich Silesia region, and a sign pointing to the province's dynamic future.

Beijing  - Chinese officials on Friday said they saw some signs of economic recovery after the impact of the global financial crisis but had prepared contingency plans amid "great uncertainty."

"There are already signs of recovery, including a rebound of consumption, investment and some product prices," Zhang Ping, China's chief economic planner, told reporters.

Berlin - The grim news continues to roll in about the German economy with data released Thursday showing January retail sales posting a surprise fall and key car exports plunging at the end of 2008.

Adjusted for inflation and seasonal swings, German retail sales fell by 0.6 per cent month-on-month in January, the German statistics office said.

This represented a year-on-year drop of 1.3 per cent with concerns about rising unemployment in Europe's biggest economy helping to offset the possible boost to consumer spending resulting from dwindling inflation.