PH qualifies for low-rate loan package
The Philippines is set to get a slice of a new $500-million concessional funding prepared by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and its Swiss partner to boost investments in education in lower-middle income countries in Asia and the Pacific.
In a statement on Friday, ADB said its host country is one of the eligible recipients of the new financing program for education that it created with the International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd), a sovereign-backed Swiss foundation established in 2023.
ADB did not say how much low-cost loans will be extended to the Philippines in particular.
IFFEd will guarantee $125 million of ADB’s sovereign loan exposure across all sectors—known as a synthetic portfolio—and provide an initial $50 million in grants.
The grants will comprise 10 percent of every loan that will be handed out under the financing program.
By blending guarantees with grants, ADB said the arrangement would facilitate a four times leverage ratio of the guarantee. This would boost the amount of capital that ADB can lend while lowering borrowing costs for the bank’s developing member countries (DMCs) like the Philippines.
Other countries that are qualified to receive a portion of the $500 million education loan are Bangladesh, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam.
ADB said more than 50 percent of students in these countries are not able to read simple text by age 10 despite attending school, putting them in an “education crisis”.
At the same time, the multilateral lender said graduates in these lower-middle income economies do not have the skills to find jobs, leaving employers unable to fill vacancies.
Paying tribute to teachers of the 21st century