The Philippines is the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) fourth-largest borrower in 2016, according to a report released by the Manila-based lender on Tuesday.
Based on the ADB’s Annual Report, total sovereign loans extended to the country reached $5.935 billion in 2016, some 7.42 percent higher than the $5.525 billion in 2015.
The ADB’s sovereign lending to the Philippines accounted for 9.4 percent of the $62.983 billion total in 2016, slightly lower than the 9.5-percent share of the $58.106 billion posted in 2015.
“The increase in our development financing to Asia and the Pacific reflects our strong commitment to improving the lives of the people in the region,” according to ADB President Takehiko Nakao. “As ADB celebrates 50 years of providing development assistance, we will strive even harder to meet the changing needs of our developing member-countries.”
In 2016 the ADB extended $250 million to help the Philippines streamline public expenditures and boost municipal revenue streams.
The ADB also extended a $400-million-worth loan to expand the country’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program. The CCT provides health and education grants to 4.4 million households nationwide.
The Manila-based lender also extended $60 million to the country to increase access to safe drinking water for an extra 200,000 people and improve sanitation for another 400,000 people outside Metro Manila.
“We cannot be complacent,” Nakao added. “The fact remains there are still 330 million people living in absolute poverty across Asia and the Pacific. A lack of infrastructure continues to limit economic growth, inhibit poverty reduction and restrict improvements to quality of life.”
Data showed ADB’s three largest borrowers are the People’s Republic of China, India and Indonesia, which represents 59.8 percent of the portfolio in 2016.
Loans extended to China reached $15.615 billion, or 24.8 percent of the total, while it reached $13.331 billion, or 21.2 percent for India. Loans extended to Indonesia reached $8.7 billion, or 13.8 percent of the total.
ADB’s total lending in 2016, including cofinancing, reached $31.7 billion—an 18-percent increase from 2015, according to the annual report.
The total include $17.47 billion in approvals for loans and grants, $169 million for technical assistance, and $14.06 billion for cofinancing, which increased by a record 31 percent over 2015.
Disbursements, a key indicator for successful project implementation, also reached a new high of $12.26 billion in 2016.
Private-sector operations reached $2.5 billion for only the second time in ADB’s history—a result reflecting ADB’s long-term strategy to significantly boost support for private enterprise to create more high quality jobs and increase living standards across Asia and the Pacific.
Apart from its own funds, ADB’s private- sector operations also generated a record $5.84 billion in cofinancing—a $1.2-billion increase from 2015—which included $238 million in official cofinancing to support nonsovereign operations.