What does ADB do?

ADB's overarching goal is to reduce poverty in Asia and the Pacific. It helps improve the quality of
people's lives by providing loans and technical assistance for a broad range of development
activities. Find out more about our operations.

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How much does ADB spend for its operations?

ADB's 2010 budget has been prepared taking into account the thrust of ADB's strategies, policies, and
work programs. View ADB's budget for 2010. [ PDF ]

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How is ADB different from commercial banks?

ADB is a multilateral development finance institution that engages in mostly public sector lending for
development purposes in its developing member countries. ADB's clients are its member
governments, who are also its shareholders.

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Can an individual borrow from ADB?

No. ADB is a development bank that lends to governments for development projects. It has no
individual clients.

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Why is ADB in Manila?

On 30 November 1965, delegates of the United Nation's Economic Commission for Asia and the Far
East voted Manila to host the ADB headquarters.

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Does ADB have offices in other countries?

Yes. Our headquarters is in Manila, Philippines. We also have offices in many borrowing countries
in Asia and the Pacific region as well as in three cities in developed member countries,
namely, Frankfurt, Tokyo, and Washington, DC.

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What development issues does ADB focus on?

We focus on poverty reduction. In doing so, we emphasize:

 Catalyzing investment from the private sector

  Strengthening inclusiveness
 Promoting regional cooperation and integration
 Encouraging effective environmental management
 Improving governance and preventing corruption

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Has ADB really made any difference?

Yes. Over the years, we have played a significant contribution in economic and social transformation
of Asia and the Pacific - boosting economic growth, fostering social development, and helping improve
the quality of life for millions of people.

The 2009 ADB Perceptions Survey gauges stakeholders' perceptions of ADB's mission to help reduce
poverty and contribute to development in Asia and the Pacific. Key findings reveal that stakeholders
strongly acknowledge ADB's impact on development. A considerable majority of stakeholders view
ADB as a trusted, reliable, and competent organization with excellent knowledge of the region. ADB
also received high marks for its work in improving infrastructure and supporting regional economic
cooperation and integration. At the same time, stakeholders believe that ADB could improve its
performance in the areas of bureaucracy, speed, and project execution and monitoring, while doing
more to strengthen governance and gender equality.

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Is ADB a driving force behind globalization?

No. ADB is a development bank, focused exclusively on reducing poverty in the Asia-Pacific region. It
recognizes both the potential benefits and the downside risks of globalization - and tries to maximize
the former and minimize the latter.

Our Vision - an Asia and Pacific Free of

Poverty
ADB is an international development finance institution whose mission is to help its developing
member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people.

Headquartered in Manila, and established in 1966, ADB is owned and financed by its 67 members, of
which 48 are from the region and 19 are from other parts of the globe.

ADB's main partners are governments, the private sector, nongovernment organizations, development

agencies, community-based organizations, and foundations.

Under Strategy 2020, a long-term strategic framework adopted in 2008, ADB will follow three
complementary strategic agendas: inclusive growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional
integration.

In pursuing its vision, ADB's main instruments comprise loans, technical assistance, grants, advice,
and knowledge.
Although most lending is in the public sector - and to governments - ADB also provides direct
assistance to private enterprises of developing countries through equity investments, guarantees, and
loans. In addition, its triple-A credit rating helps mobilize funds for development.

http://www.adb.org/About/

ADB

"ASDB" redirects here. For the Arizona state agency, see Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind.

Asian Development Bank member states

  Outside regions
  Asia-Pacific region

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to

facilitate economic development of countries in Asia.[2] The bank admits the members of the United
Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, formerly known as the
United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East) and non-regional developed countries.
[2]
 From 31 members at its establishment, ADB now has 67 members - of which 48 are from within Asia
and the Pacific and 19 outside. ADB was modeled closely on the World Bank, and has a similar weighted
voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with member's capital subscriptions. At present,
both the United States and Japan hold 552,210 shares, the largest proportion of shares at 12.756% each.
[3]

Organization

ADB Headquarters, Metro Manila

The highest policy-making body of the bank is the Board of

Governors composed of one representative from each member state.
The Board of Governors, in turn, elect among themselves the 12
members of the Board of Directors and their deputy. Eight of the 12
members come from regional (Asia-Pacific) members while the others
come from non-regional members.
The Board of Governors also elect the bank's President who is the
chairperson of the Board of Directors and manages ADB. The president
has a term of office lasting five years, and may be reelected.
Traditionally, and because Japan is one of the largest shareholders of
the bank, the President has always been Japanese. The current
President is Haruhiko Kuroda, who succeeded Tadao Chino in 2005.
The headquarters of the bank is at 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong
City, Metro Manila, Philippines, and it has representative offices around
the world. The bank employs approximately 2,400 people, coming from
55 of its 67 member countries, and with more than half of the staff
being Filipino.
[edit]History

[edit]1962-1972

ADB was originally conceived by some influential Japanese who

formulated a "private plan" for a regional development bank in 1962,
which was later endorsed by the government. The Japanese felt that its
interest in Asia was not served by the World Bank and wanted to
establish a bank in which Japan was institutionally advantaged. Once
the ADB was founded in 1966, Japan took a prominent position in the
bank; it received the presidency and some other crucial "reserve
positions" such as the director of the administration department. By the
end of 1972, Japan contributed $173.7 million (22.6% of the total) to the
ordinary capital resources and $122.6 million (59.6% of the total) to the
special funds. In contrast, the United States contributed only $1.25
million for the special fund.[2]
The ADB served Japan's economic interests because its loans went
largely to Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and
the Philippines, the countries with which Japan had crucial trading ties;
these nations accounted for 78.48% of the total ADB loans in 1967-72.
Moreover, Japan received tangible benefits, 41.67% of the total
procurements in 1967-76. Japan tied its special funds contributions to its
preferred sectors and regions and procurements of its goods and
services, as reflected in its $100 million donation for the Agricultural
Special Fund in April 1968.[2]
Takeshi Watanabe served as the first ADB president from 1966 to 1972.
[edit]1972-1986

Japan's share of cumulative contributions increased from 30.4 percent in

1972 to 35.5 percent in 1981 and 41.9 percent in 1986. In addition,
Japan was a crucial source of ADB borrowing, 29.4 percent (out of
$6,729.1 million) in 1973-86, compared to 45.1 percent from Europe and
12.9 percent from the United States. Japanese presidents Inoue Shiro
(1972–76) and Yoshida Taroichi (1976–81) took the spotlight. Fujioka
Masao, the fourth president (1981–90), adopted an assertive leadership
style. He announced an ambitious plan to expand the ADB into a high-
impact development agency. His plan and banking philosophy led to
increasing friction with the U.S. directors, with open criticism from the
Americans at the 1985 annual meeting.[2]
During this period there was a strong parallel institutional tie between the
ADB and the Japanese Ministry of Finance, particularly the International
Finance Bureau (IFB).
[edit]Since 1986
Its share of cumulative contributions increased from 41.9 percent in 1986
to 50.0 per- cent in 1993. In addition, Japan has been a crucial lender to
the ADB, 30.4 percent of the total in 1987-93, compared to 39.8 percent
from Europe and 11.7 percent from the United States. However, different
from the previous period, Japan has become more assertive since the
mid 1980s. Japan's plan was to use the ADB as a conduit for recycling
its huge surplus capital and a "catalyst" for attracting private Japanese
capital to the region. After the 1985 Plaza Accord, Japanese
manufacturers were pushed by high yen to move to Southeast Asia. The
ADB played a role in channeling Japanese private capital to Asia by
improving local infrastructure.[2] The ADB also committed itself to
increasing loans for social issues such as education, health and
population, urban development and environment, to 40 percent of its
total loans from around 30 percent at the time.[2]
[edit]Lending

The ADB offers "hard" loans from ordinary capital resources (OCR) on
commercial terms, and the Asian Development Fund (ADF) affiliated
with the ADB extends "soft" loans from special fund resources with
concessional conditions. For OCR, members subscribe capital, including
paid-in and callable elements, a 50 percent paid-in ratio for the initial
subscription, 5 percent for the Third General Capital Increase (GCI) in
1983 and 2 percent for the Fourth General Capital Increase in 1994. The
ADB borrows from international capital markets with its capital as
guarantee.[2]
In 2009, ADB obtained member-contributions for its Fifth General Capital
Increase of 200%, in response to a call by G20 leaders to increase
resources of multilateral development banks so as to support growth in
developing countries amid the global financial crisis. For 2010 and 2011,
a 200% GCI allows lending of $12.5-13.0 billion in 2010 and about $11.0
billion in 2011.[4] With this increase, the bank's capital base has tripled
from $55 billion to $165 billion.[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Development_Bank

Operations
Updated: 14 January 2010

For more than 40 years, ADB has supported projects in agriculture and natural resources,
energy, finance, industry and nonfuel minerals, social infrastructure, and transport and
communications.

More than half of ADB's assistance has gone into building infrastructure - roads, airports,
power plants, and water and sanitation facilities. Such infrastructure helps lay the
foundation for commerce and economic growth and makes essential services accessible to
the poor.

In addition to loans, grants, and technical assistance, ADB uses guarantees and equity
investments to help its developing member countries.

Operations Update 2010

(as of 31 December 2010)

Public Sector (Sovereign) Operations: ADB approved, in 2010, 105 loans to 22

developing member countries totaling $10.41 billion. Approved loans from ADB's ordinary
capital resources (OCR) total about $8.20 billion, while $2.22 billion came from ADB's
concessional Asian Development Fund (ADF).

Private Sector (Nonsovereign) Operations: ADB approved 21 nonsovereign projects

worth $2.17 billion 

Grants: ADB approved 60 grant-financed projects totaling $1.05 billion, and 333 technical
assistance projects worth $326.5 million
Financial Products
ADB finances loan and grant projects in the territories of its developing member countries
(DMCs). It also provides technical assistance, guarantees, and equity investments. To
maximize the development impact of its assistance, ADB mobilizes financial resources
through cofinancing operations that tap official, commercial, and export credit sources.

ADB's financial products are financed from ordinary capital resources (OCR) as well
as special and trust funds, of which the Asian Development Fund (ADF) is the largest.

Most of ADB's lending comes from its ordinary capital resources, a pool of funds offered at
near-market terms to lower- to middle-income countries.

The Asian Development Fund offers loans at very low interest rates and grants that help
reduce poverty in ADB's poorest borrowing countries.

Loans
Ordinary Capital Resources
     LIBOR-based Loans (LBL)
     Local Currency Loans (LCL)
     Pool-based Single Currency Loan Products
     Pilot Financing Instruments
Asian Development Fund Loans

Grants
Asian Development Fund Grants
Grants from other special and trust funds

Other Products
Guarantees
Equity Investments
Technical Assistance
Cofinancing
Debt Management Products
Trade Finance Program