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NUSA DUA, Indonesia: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Saturday it will establish a three-billion-dollar fund to boost developing member countries' fiscal spending capacity amid the global economic crisis.
ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda announced plans for the new facility at the bank's annual meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali, saying it would provide short-term loans faster and cheaper than existing programmes.
"I believe this will be a very welcome initiative to assist faltering economies and, most importantly, protect the poor from the worst impacts of the crisis," Kuroda said.
The Countercyclical Support Facility is subject to approval by the lender's board of governors, who will meet here on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the impact of the global downturn on Asia's developing economies.
The announcement comes just two days after the board agreed to triple the ADB's capital base, from 55 billion dollars to 165 billion, allowing the bank to boost lending support amid the crisis.
In a report released at the press conference, the bank revealed plans to increase its lending assistance by more than 10 billion dollars in 2009-2010.
That would bring total ADB assistance during the period to about 32 billion dollars, compared with about 22 billion dollars in 2007-2008, it said.
"The crisis support will include project investments, quick-disbursing policy-based loans, guarantees, and new initiatives designed to address specific crisis needs," the bank said in a statement.
"ADB will also expand its support through grants for policy analysis and capacity building."
The bank has said GDP growth in developing Asian countries is projected to decline to just 3.4 per cent this year from 9.5 per cent in 2007.
At the lower rate, more than 60 million people in the region will remain in extreme poverty than if the higher rate had been maintained.
- AFP/so
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