The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is funding a yearlong awareness campaign on credit enhancement products in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and the Philippines, which will help the countries mobilize more funds for development projects. Asia needs to invest an estimated $8 trillion in infrastructure between 2010 and 2020, said an ADB release. Governments and development agencies can fund only a portion of this, with the balance left to the private sector to cover. Many ADB developing member countries continue to experience enormous liquidity but face constraints in mobilizing it because of uncertainties about lending to sovereign and non-sovereign borrowers in emerging markets. Credit enhancement products such as guarantees can offset some of these concerns but are rarely used in the region because there is little understanding of how they work.
“Credit enhancement products can attract private capital to spur trade and investment, including through public-private partnerships,” said Tadashi Kondo, Head of ADB’s Office of Cofinancing Operations.

News: The Independent / Bangladesh/ jan-31-2011