ADB signs agreement to deal direct with companies, projects

16 May 2015
ADB signs agreement to deal direct with companies, projects
The Asian Development Bank building in Mandaluyong City, east of Manila, Philippines. Photo: Rolex Dela Pena/EPA

The Asian Development Bank and the Myanmar have signed a non-sovereign framework agreement that will allow ADB to provide loans, equity investments, guarantees, and trade financing directly to private companies and projects in the country, according to a press release on May 15.
“The private sector is the country’s engine of economic growth, and the government welcomes ADB’s support to private sector ventures in Myanmar,” Dr Maung Maung Thein, Myanmar’s Deputy Minister of Finance, said during the signing ceremony on May 15 attended by other government officials, ADB Vice-President Stephen Groff, other ADB officials and the media.
ADB estimates that the investment gap for Myanmar that needs to be filled to maintain high economic growth and achieve middle-income country status by 2030 is around US$80 billion [K80,000 billion]. “The role of private sector investment in meeting infrastructure financing requirements and providing important expertise and technology is critical”, said Mr Groff.
In Myanmar, ADB expects to approve up to US$1 billion in non-sovereign investment projects until 2016 in areas ranging from logistics and connectivity, power generation, telecommunications, and urban development, to financial sector and trade finance.