ADB approved $500 M loan to the Philippines
The Philippines gets fresh funds as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a loan $500 million to the country. The loan is said to help boost the Philippines’ fiscal spending amid the global economic recession.
It is the first loan to be released under the ADB’s Countercyclical Support Facility (CSF) established in June to help developing members boost spending to counter the effects of the global downturn.
The $500-million ADB loan is given on five-year repayment term, with a three-year grace period. Annual interest rate is at prevailing LIBOR rate plus 2%. ADB is expected to release the loan next month.
The approval of the loan was confirmed through Rosalia V. de Leon, Department of Finance officer-in-charge of the international finance group.
She said, “This loan is critical for the Philippine government to stimulate the economic recovery, protect its social spending and poverty reduction programs, and continue with its longer-term development objectives in 2009.â€
Director-general of the ADB’s Southeast Asia Department, Arjun Thapan, said the facility would “maintain momentum of the country’s key development efforts by expanding the fiscal space at a challenging time for the global economy.â€
Other countries that have also aside for the said funding include Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Kazakhstan. To be eligible for the CSF funds, Asian countries must be adversely affected by the global economic crisis but demonstrate sound macroeconomic policies and have a special program in place.
August 24, 2009
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Tags: $500-million loan, ADB, CSF, finance, funding, Loans, money, Philippines · Posted in: Announcement, finance, Government, Loans, money, Philippine business news, Philippines
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