THE Philippines is among the top recipients of loan and grant financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) across the region.
In its Annual Report for 2022, ADB data showed it committed $2.995 billion to the Philippines in 2022, making the country the 5th largest recipient of sovereign, non-sovereign loans and grants.
ADB committed $20.5 billion from its own resources in 2022 to help Asia and the Pacific continue its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic despite fresh economic headwinds and crises.
“Our support in 2022 helped our developing member countries [DMCs] navigate the immediate impacts of these crises while bolstering their longer-term resilience in critical areas such as climate change and food security,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa.
For the Philippines, ADB committed $2.5 billion from its ordinary capital resources (OCR) for sovereign operations and $49 million for nonsovereign operations.
The country also secured P2 million from ADB’s special funds and $10.3 million for technical assistance.
Cofinancing from ADB and its partners allowed the country to tap into $423.9 million for projects and $9.9 million for technical assistance.
The financing from ADB was allocated to the South Commuter Railway-Tranche 1 which received $1.75 billion, the largest for any single project in the region.
Other projects included the Support to Capital Market-Generated Infrastructure Financing Program (Subprogram 2) which received $400 million; Climate Change Action Program (Subprogram 1), $250 million; and Supporting Innovation in the Philippine Technical and Vocational Education and Training System, $100 million.
Meanwhile, in the region, Pakistan received the largest commitment from ADB worth $5.584 billion followed by Bangladesh, $3.935 billion; India, $3.117 billion; and Vietnam, $3.094 billion.
The countries in the region that received the least commitments were Tuvalu which received a total of $1.2 million in commitments; Niue, $1.6 million; and Cook Islands, $2.2 million.
However, the ADB did not make any commitments to Myanmar for 2022. ADB said effective 1 February 2021, ADB placed a temporary hold on sovereign project disbursements and new contracts in Myanmar, where a military coup against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is detained and being tried on assorted charges, remains entrenched in power.
ADB said it “continues to closely monitor the situation in the country and remains committed to supporting its people.”
ADB committed $6.7 billion in financing for climate mitigation and adaptation in 2022, making progress toward its ambition of providing $100 billion in cumulative climate financing during 2019–2030.
To address the region’s worsening food crisis, ADB provided $3.7 billion under its $14-billion food security program, delivering essential food relief for people most in need and strengthening food production systems.
To support economic recovery, ADB financed institutional reforms, strengthened public service delivery, and growth in key economic sectors. ADB’s $3.9 billion in commitments to the private sector included vital liquidity support to enterprises facing a difficult business environment.
Meanwhile, the bank made wide-ranging investments in quality infrastructure as well as in education, health, and other social sectors that contributed to building economy-wide resilience.
Promoting gender equality remained at the forefront of ADB’s work, with 97 percent of the bank’s operations in 2022 contributing to this agenda. These operations included initiatives to improve women’s access to quality jobs, foster women’s entrepreneurship, and build women’s resilience to climate change.
Annual Report 2022 provides details on how ADB is evolving to better meet the changing and complex needs of its DMCs. These include measures to unlock greater resources to support the region’s development through an ongoing review of the bank’s capital adequacy framework, as well as structural and nonstructural organizational reforms guided by a new operating model.
“I am confident that these reforms will ensure ADB delivers greater impact in the region, including by scaling up climate financing, mobilizing more private sector investment, and providing a wider range of development solutions in response to client needs,” said Mr. Asakawa.