Multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank approved a record USD 2.6 billion new financing and investments for the private sector, including Indian projects last year, logging a 37 per cent increase.
With this the bank's private sector investment portfolio has increased to over USD 8 billion and private sector operations are now targeted to double from current levels by 2020.
"We are substantially expanding our private sector financing and investment operations to meet the rapidly changing needs of this dynamic region," said ADB President Takehiko Nakao in a statement.
In 2015, ADB's private sector co-financing was over USD 4.5 billion, representing over 40 per cent of total co-financing volume during the year, and including nearly USD 1.5 billion of B-loan syndications and risk transfers across such diverse markets as Azerbaijan, the People's Republic of China, India, and Myanmar.
The statement further said, inclusive business transactions targeting the economically disadvantages accounted for 26 per cent of ADB's private sector financing during the year.
"The majority of the bank's over USD 750 million of financing to financial institutions in 2015 was directed to financial inclusion and gender equality in diverse markets such as Georgia, India, and Sri Lanka," it said.
ADB, based in Manila is dedicated to reducing poverty in India and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth.
