ADB lending hits record high: ADB lending surged to a record $27.17bn last year as efforts continue to counter the effects of the economic slowdown and to tackle both inequality and risks to the environmental, according to the development bank’s annual report that was published today. The report records that $16.29bn was approved for loans and grants, $141m for technical assistance and $10.74bn for co-financing, the third of which increased by a record 16%. Disbursements also hit a new record of $12.22bn, 22% up on 2014, while private sector operations rose from $1.92bn to $2.63bn.
“Our record performance in 2015 reflects a growing demand from the Asia and Pacific region for ADB’s development assistance,” ADB President Takehiko Nakao said. “Poverty persists despite the region’s impressive growth, and infrastructure and other development needs are monumental.”
ADB estimates that the region needs an annual investment of approximately $800bn – or 6% of GDP – to meet its infrastructure requirements compared to the current average of between 2% and 3% in many countries in the region.
In September, ADB became the first multilateral development bank to commit to a sizeable climate finance target by announcing it would double its annual climate financing to $6bn by 2020.
- Last week, the World Bank and AIIB, signed their first co-financing agreement, paving the way for the two organisations to jointly develop projects by the end of the year. IN 2015, ADB and AIIB: Asian Development Bank President Takehiko Nakao and President Designate of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Liqun Jin agreed in principle to look at the possibility of co-financing Asian infrastructure projects more