PRC Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund provides USD 750,000 for Strengthening Ecosystem for Sustainable Finance Development in ASEAN+3 project

Project narrative

On March 12, 2023, the People's Republic of China (PRC) Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund contributed USD 750,000 for Strengthening Ecosystem for Sustainable Finance Development in ASEAN+3 project. The Asia Development Bank's Technical Assistance Special Fund provided USD 21,500 to the project, bringing the total grant amount to USD 771,500. The proposal was first cleared on September 16, 2022. It was approved by China's Ministry of Finance on February 10, 2023 and the grant was finally approved on March 12, 2023. The purpose of the project is to develop and strengthen the financial system(s) necessary to develop sustainable local currency financings in the region. The project focuses particularly on increasing the supply of sustainable bonds and loans. ADB will administer and execute the project through the Financial Cooperation and Integration Team of the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, under the guidance of the Chinese and Thai ministries of finance. The expected completion date was February 28, 2025, but has been pushed back to August 31, 2025. As of April 23, 2025, USD 610,454.89 has been disbursed. The People's Republic of China (PRC) Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund was jointly established by the Chinese Government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) on March 24, 2005. The China Ministry of Finance provides financing and ADB implementes the projects. The purpose of this special fund is to support the process of poverty reduction, regional cooperation and knowledge sharing for ADB developing member countries (DMCs) in the Asia-Pacific as well as Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) countries.