The Asian Development Bank (ADB) increased its annual operations by 26 percent and reached a record $32.2 billion in 2017, according to the Bank's annual report on Tuesday.
The Bank's total operations of $32.2 billion last year consisted of a 51 percent year-on-year rise in loans, grants, and investments from its own resources, which amounted to $20.1 billion.
'We began a new chapter in meeting development needs across Asia and the Pacific in 2017,' ADB President Takehiko Nakao was quoted as saying. 'With the merger of the bank's concessional Asian Development Fund lending operations with the ordinary capital resources balance sheet from the start of 2017, ADB has a solid capital base to support our operations going forward.'
'We continue to combine finance with innovative solutions to respond better to the region's diverse and specific challenges and needs, such as rapid urbanization, climate change, and growing demand for water and energy,' Nakao added.
ADB's financing of climate mitigation and adaptation increased 21 percent compared 2016 and reached a record $4.5 billion in 2017.
'The bank is now in a good position to achieve its $6 billion annual climate financing target by 2020,' the statement read.
The bank also mobilized an additional $606 million from external financing, bringing total climate financing to $5.2 billion last year.
By Huseyin Erdogan
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr