The Asian Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China signed a three-billion-dollar cofinancing agreement Monday for projects in developing Asian nations, the bank said in a statement. The agreement "aims to make it simpler for governments, sub-sovereign borrowers and private firms to access financing, particularly for infrastructure projects," the multilateral lender said.
The three-year agreement signed at the bank's annual board of governors meeting on Indonesia's Bali island will take effect from June 2009, it said. "Access to sanitation, power and transportation links is still very poor in many parts of Asia. Massive amounts of funds are needed to address that if we are to reduce poverty in the region," ADB Vice President Ursula Schaefer-Preuss said.
"This agreement with China Eximbank will ensure funds get systematically directed towards those and other urgent projects that will help the region weather the current global downturn." ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda called Monday for a "rebalancing" of regional economies in response to the global crisis, saying the region would record only 3.4 percent growth this year but could expect to rebound to around 6.0 percent in 2010.
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