The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $1bn loan to help the government in Astana shore up the Kazakh economy. “The loan from ADB’s Countercyclical Support Facility will give the country the fiscal leeway it needs to mitigate the unanticipated and significant negative impacts of the steep decline in world oil prices and the economic slowdown of the neighbouring countries,” Lotte Schou-Zibell, Principal Economist in the Central and West Asia Department said this week. “It will help the government modernize infrastructure and maintain spending programs for job creation, social services, support to low-income households, and private sector development, particularly for small businesses.”
Source: Times of Central Asia