By 2020 we envision a dramatically
transformed Asia. It will have conquered
widespread absolute poverty in most countries, with more than 90% of its people
living in “middle-income” countries. In a dramatic turnaround from 1980 its
average income per capita (in PPP terms) will be comparable to Latin America’s (if still a fraction of North
America’s and Europe’s). Its
share of global GDP will approach 45%, and its share of world trade, 35%. Even
though in “capital surplus,” the region will remain a magnet for private capital
flows. And it will become a major factor in global issues. Tempering this
overall positive picture is that some of the fastest growing countries will
still have large numbers of poor people. Asia
will continue to have many low-income or fragile economies with large
development challenges. They will continue to require support from donors. The
Asian Development Bank (ADB) is privileged to serve Asia,
the world’s most populous and fastest growing region—a region rapidly emerging
from widespread poverty. Asia appears poised
to complete its transformation to the next stage of development. In this transformed
Asia, the traditional model of development
banking— transferring outside official capital—will become redundant.
ADB is widely seen as the development
bank “belonging” to the region. Trusted by countries it has a good track record
overall, particularly in infrastructure. The Bank is the institution of choice
to continue delivering development assistance to Asia.
But to play this desired role from now to 2020 ADB must change radically and adopt
a new paradigm for development banking.
The New ADB should help tackle
issues critical to further development of a newly middle income Asia by offering a more balanced blend of knowledge and
financial assistance. To address the remaining pockets of poverty, its primary emphasis
should be on supporting higher and more inclusive growth rather than
transferring external aid. As a financial intermediary, it should connect
lenders and borrowers from within the region. The New ADB must be much
more focused, driven by three complementary strategic directions: moving from
fighting extensive poverty to supporting
faster and more inclusive growth, from economic growth to environmentally
sustainable growth, and from a primarily national focus to a
regional and ultimately global focus.
Its work should cover six core activities:
infrastructure, financial development, energy and environment, regional
integration, technological development, and knowledge management
•
Infrastructure development should
be a primary instrument to promote higher and more Inclusive growth, emphasizing
public-private partnerships and supporting more conducive policy frameworks
. • Financial
development should bring together lenders and borrowers
from within the region.
The work of the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) is aimed at improving the welfare of the people in Asia and the Pacific, particularly the 1.9 billion who
live on less than $2 a day. Despite many success stories, Asia
and the Pacific remains home to two thirds of the world are poor.
ADB is a multilateral
development financial institution owned by 67 members, 48 from the
region and 19 from other parts of the globe.
ADB's vision is a
region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries
reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their citizens.
ADB's main instruments
for providing help to its developing member countries are
- policy dialogue
- loans
- technical assistance
- grants
- guarantees
- equity investments.
ADB's annual lending
volume is typically about $6 billion, with technical assistance usually
totaling about $180 million a year.
Its headquarters is in Manila and has 26 other
offices around the world:
- 19 resident missions in Asia
- 3 sub regional offices in the Pacific
- representative offices in Frankfurt for Europe, Tokyo for Japan, and Washington, DC for North America
- a special liaison office in Timor-Leste
ADB has more than 2,000
employees from over 50 countries.
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