The bank employs about 3,000 people, representing 60 of its 68 members. ===List of presidents=== (*) As from 17 January 2020, Masatsugu Asakawa was president of ADB.. ==History== ===1960s=== As early as 1956, Japan Finance Minister Hisato Ichimada had suggested to United States Secretary of State John Foster Dulles that development projects in Southeast Asia could be supported by a new financial institution for the region.
In contrast, the United States contributed only $1.25 million to the special fund. After its creation in the 1960s, ADB focused much of its assistance on food production and rural development.
See full account in "Banking on the Future of Asia and the Pacific: 50 Years of the Asian Development Bank," July 2017. The idea came up again late in 1962 when Kaoru Ohashi, an economist from a research institute in Tokyo, visited Takeshi Watanabe, then a private financial consultant in Tokyo, and proposed a study group to form a development bank for the Asian region.
The group met regularly in 1963, examining various scenarios for setting up a new institution and drew on Watanabe's experiences with the World Bank.
However, the idea received a cool reception from the World Bank itself and the study group became discouraged. In parallel, the concept was formally proposed at a trade conference organized by the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) in 1963 by a young Thai economist, Paul Sithi-Amnuai.
To decide, the 18 prospective regional members of the new bank held three rounds of votes at a ministerial conference in Manila in November/December 1965.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines.
Watanabe later wrote in his personal history of ADB: "I felt as if the child I had so carefully reared had been taken away to a distant country." (Asian Development Bank publication, "Towards a New Asia", 1977, p. 16) As intensive work took place during 1966 to prepare for the opening of the new bank in Manila, high on the agenda was choice of president.
In the absence of any other candidates, Watanabe was elected first President of the Asian Development Bank at its Inaugural Meeting on 24 November 1966. By the end of 1972, Japan had 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.
A Bank for Half the World: The Story of the Asian Development Bank, 1966-1986.
At the time, Asia was one of the poorest regions in the world. Early loans went largely to Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines; these nations accounted for 78.48% of the total ADB loans between 1967 and 1972.
Moreover, Japan received tangible benefits, 41.67% of the total procurements between 1967 and 1976.
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. Watanabe served as the first ADB president to 1972. ===1970s–1980s=== In the 1970s, ADB's assistance to developing countries in Asia expanded into education and health, and then to infrastructure and industry.
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. Watanabe served as the first ADB president to 1972. ===1970s–1980s=== In the 1970s, ADB's assistance to developing countries in Asia expanded into education and health, and then to infrastructure and industry.
In 1982, ADB opened its first field office, in Bangladesh, and later in the decade it expanded its work with non-government organizations (NGOs). Japanese presidents Inoue Shiro (1972–76) and Yoshida Taroichi (1976–81) took the spotlight in the 1970s.
In the absence of any other candidates, Watanabe was elected first President of the Asian Development Bank at its Inaugural Meeting on 24 November 1966. By the end of 1972, Japan had 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.
At the time, Asia was one of the poorest regions in the world. Early loans went largely to Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines; these nations accounted for 78.48% of the total ADB loans between 1967 and 1972.
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. Watanabe served as the first ADB president to 1972. ===1970s–1980s=== In the 1970s, ADB's assistance to developing countries in Asia expanded into education and health, and then to infrastructure and industry.
Moreover, Japan received tangible benefits, 41.67% of the total procurements between 1967 and 1976.
Watanabe later wrote in his personal history of ADB: "I felt as if the child I had so carefully reared had been taken away to a distant country." (Asian Development Bank publication, "Towards a New Asia", 1977, p. 16) As intensive work took place during 1966 to prepare for the opening of the new bank in Manila, high on the agenda was choice of president.
When the world suffered its first oil price shock, ADB shifted more of its assistance to support energy projects, especially those promoting the development of domestic energy sources in member countries. Following considerable pressure from the Reagan Administration in the 1980s, ADB reluctantly began working with the private sector in an attempt to increase the impact of its development assistance to poor countries in Asia and the Pacific.
While the institution had such operations since the 1980s (under pressure from the Reagan Administration) the early attempts were highly unsuccessful with low lending volumes, considerable losses and financial scandals associated with an entity named AFIC.
In 1982, ADB opened its first field office, in Bangladesh, and later in the decade it expanded its work with non-government organizations (NGOs). Japanese presidents Inoue Shiro (1972–76) and Yoshida Taroichi (1976–81) took the spotlight in the 1970s.
Fujioka Masao, the fourth president (1981–90), adopted an assertive leadership style, launching an ambitious plan to expand the ADB into a high-impact development agency. ===1990s=== In the 1990s, ADB began promoting regional cooperation by helping the countries on the Mekong River to trade and work together.
The 200% increase is the largest in ADB's history, and was the first since 1994. ===2010s=== Asia moved beyond the economic crisis and by 2010 had emerged as a new engine of global economic growth though it remained home to two-thirds of the world's poor.
In 1999, ADB adopted poverty reduction as its overarching goal. ===2000s=== The early years of 2000s saw a dramatic expansion of private sector finance.
In 1999, ADB adopted poverty reduction as its overarching goal. ===2000s=== The early years of 2000s saw a dramatic expansion of private sector finance.
Over the course of the next six years, the Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD) grew by a factor of 41 times the 2001 levels of new financings and earnings for the ADB.
However, beginning in 2002, the ADB undertook a dramatic expansion of private sector lending under a new team.
Financial sector and capital market development, including microfinance, small and medium-sized enterprises, and regulatory reforms, is vital to decreasing poverty in Asia and the Pacific.This has been a key priority of the Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD) since 2002.
That document formally stated that assistance to private sector development was the lead priority of the ADB and that it should constitute 50% of the bank's lending by 2020. In 2003, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic hit the region and ADB responded with programs to help the countries in the region work together to address infectious diseases, including avian influenza and HIV/AIDS.
ADB also responded to a multitude of natural disasters in the region, committing more than $850 million for recovery in areas of India, Indonesia, Maldives, and Sri Lanka which were impacted by the December 2004 Asian tsunami.
Each year the PSOD finances billions of dollars in letters of credit across all of Asia and the rest of the world. Infrastructure, including transport and communications, energy, water supply and sanitation, and urban development. Regional Cooperation and Integration – Regional cooperation and integration (RCI) was introduced by President Kuroda when he joined the ADB in 2004.
In addition, $1 billion in loans and grants was provided to the victims of the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. In 2009, ADB's Board of Governors agreed to triple ADB's capital base from $55 billion to $165 billion, giving it much-needed resources to respond to the global economic crisis.
(ESCAP, United Nations Publication March 2007, "The first parliament of Asia" pp. 65).
New York, NY: Praeger. ==External links== Bank Information Center ADB Institute "Inequality Worsens across Asia", Dollars & Sense magazine, November/December 2007.
This culminated with the Board's formal recognition if these achievements in March 2008, when the Board of Directors formally adopted the Long Term Strategic Framework (LTSF).
As noted earlier, this culminated in the Long Term Strategic Framework (LTSF) which was adopted by the Board in March 2008. ==Financings== The ADB offers "hard" loans on commercial terms primarily to middle income countries in Asia and "soft" loans with lower interest rates to poorer countries in the region.
In addition, $1 billion in loans and grants was provided to the victims of the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. In 2009, ADB's Board of Governors agreed to triple ADB's capital base from $55 billion to $165 billion, giving it much-needed resources to respond to the global economic crisis.
The 200% increase is the largest in ADB's history, and was the first since 1994. ===2010s=== Asia moved beyond the economic crisis and by 2010 had emerged as a new engine of global economic growth though it remained home to two-thirds of the world's poor.
1977 (reprinted 2010).
ADB responded to this with loans and grants that encouraged economic growth. In early 2012, the ADB began to re-engage with Myanmar in response to reforms initiated by the government.
He succeeded Takehiko Nakao on 17 January 2020, who succeeded Haruhiko Kuroda in 2013. The headquarters of the bank is at 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines, and it has 31 field offices in Asia and the Pacific and representative offices in Washington, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Sydney.
In April 2014, ADB opened an office in Myanmar and resumed making loans and grants to the country. In 2017, ADB combined the lending operations of its Asian Development Fund (ADF) with its ordinary capital resources (OCR).
In 2014, $9.2 billion—or nearly half—of ADB's $22.9 billion in operations were financed by other organizations.
See full account in "Banking on the Future of Asia and the Pacific: 50 Years of the Asian Development Bank," July 2017. The idea came up again late in 1962 when Kaoru Ohashi, an economist from a research institute in Tokyo, visited Takeshi Watanabe, then a private financial consultant in Tokyo, and proposed a study group to form a development bank for the Asian region.
In April 2014, ADB opened an office in Myanmar and resumed making loans and grants to the country. In 2017, ADB combined the lending operations of its Asian Development Fund (ADF) with its ordinary capital resources (OCR).
Based on a new policy, both types of loans will be sourced starting January 2017 from the bank's ordinary capital resources (OCR), which functions as its general operational fund. The ADB's Private Sector Department (PSOD) can and does offer a broader range of financings beyond commercial loans.
They also have the capability to provide guarantees, equity and mezzanine finance (a combination of debt and equity). In 2017, ADB lent $19.1 billion of which $3.2 billion went to private enterprises, as part of its "nonsovereign" operations.
ADB's operations in 2017, including grants and cofinancing, totaled $28.9 billion. ADB obtains its funding by issuing bonds on the world's capital markets.
ADB is an official United Nations Observer. As of 31 December 2020, Japan and the United States each holds the largest proportion of shares at 15.571%.
He succeeded Takehiko Nakao on 17 January 2020, who succeeded Haruhiko Kuroda in 2013. The headquarters of the bank is at 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines, and it has 31 field offices in Asia and the Pacific and representative offices in Washington, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Sydney.
The bank employs about 3,000 people, representing 60 of its 68 members. ===List of presidents=== (*) As from 17 January 2020, Masatsugu Asakawa was president of ADB.. ==History== ===1960s=== As early as 1956, Japan Finance Minister Hisato Ichimada had suggested to United States Secretary of State John Foster Dulles that development projects in Southeast Asia could be supported by a new financial institution for the region.
That document formally stated that assistance to private sector development was the lead priority of the ADB and that it should constitute 50% of the bank's lending by 2020. In 2003, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic hit the region and ADB responded with programs to help the countries in the region work together to address infectious diseases, including avian influenza and HIV/AIDS.
The result was to expand the OCR balance sheet to permit increasing annual lending and grants to $20 billion by 2020 — 50% more than the previous level. In 2020, ADB gave a $2 million grant from the Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund, to support the Armenian Government in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
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