ADB Oks P17 million grant for financial integration

MANILA, Philippines — Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $300,000 (P16.62 million) technical assistance grant to support financial integration in the Philippines and other countries in Southeast Asia.

Other beneficiaries of the grant include Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, and Laos.

The $300,000 grant will come from ADB’s Technical Assistance Fund.

It aims to support capacity building of central banks and financial regulators of Southeast Asia through knowledge and experience sharing among ASEAN central banks and the Japan Financial Service Agency.

The technical assistance also targets to enhance cooperation and coordination among Southeast Asian countries and to further strengthen the region’s financial integration.

Further, it aims to strengthen governance and institutional capacity and foster regional cooperation and integration, as well as come up with improved organizational capacity and knowledge among central banks.

The assistance intends to develop and conduct new capacity building programs on financial development and integration and enhance information sharing on capacity building programs among central banks in the region.

The sector involved is in finance and central banking systems.