Madagascar’s new president Hery Rajaonarimampianina took office on Saturday, pledging to create an investment-friendly climate in the Indian Ocean island. The World Bank said on Friday the next step of forming a government was crucial and resumption of normal lending hinged on the appointment of a new prime minister. The former finance minister won the presidential election on December 20, the first in the country since the 2009 coup that plunged Madagascar into a political crisis that has sharply slowed economic growth and deepened poverty.
