ADB okays 3.4 billion dollars to help Asia cope with crisis

ADB okays 3.4 billion dollars to help Asia cope with crisis Manila - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Tuesday it has approved 3.4 billion dollars in additional funds to help member developing countries in Asia cope with the global economic crisis.

The Manila-based ADB said 3 billion dollars will be used to establish the Countercyclical Support Facility (CSF) that will provide short term loans faster and cheaper compared to the bank's existing loan facilities.

The CSF, which was first announced by ADB president Haruhiko Kuruda, during the bank's annual meeting in Indonesia last month, will be capped at 500 million dollars per eligible country.

"Conditions for accessing the facility include a significant slowdown in growth, exports and remittances; fiscal constraints; and difficulty in sourcing finance from international markets on favorable terms," the bank said in a statement.

"The developing member countries will also need to put in place a specific countercyclical development programme, to be supported by CSF, which includes investment in public infrastructure or social safety net scheme targeting the poor and vulnerable," it added.

The ADB will also make available 400 million dollars to the Asian Development Fund that will provide loans on concessional terms to the bank's poorer developing member countries with limited debt payment capacity.

The additional resources will be available to developing member countries through loans and grants, the bank said. (dpa)