ADB to lend India US$10b over next 5 years

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to lend India US$10 billion over the next five years; the amount of money available for Indian development could, however, be many times more, if an ADB scheme to employ its loans in tapping India's institutional investor base succeeds.

Instead of using all of its India lending to finance infrastructure and other projects directly, the ADB will set aside some of the money for financing credit guarantees that will allow Indian pension and insurance funds to deploy their own resources in financing such projects.

This should help to open up what principal economist Rana Hasan at the India Resident Mission of the ADB described to The Business Times as being a "fantastic pool of funds" available from such institutions.