ADB, Citibank to Arrange $100M Microfinance for Asia, including Vietnam

Vietnam’s central bank-run Thoi bao Ngan hang (Banking Times) newspaper reported Oct. 19 that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Citibank have reached an agreement to arrange a syndicated $100 million for micro financial institutions in developing nations in Asia including those in Vietnam. The funding is part of ADB’s microfinance program to relend about $470 million to Asian nations, the paper said. Since 2012 until now, under such a program more than 2 million clients have gained access to such microfinance. About eight million people in Vietnam benefited from micro-lending programs in 2014, ranking the country the third among countries for the largest number of microfinance borrowers in Asia. (Thoi bao Ngan hang – Banking Times Oct 19 p5, Ttvn.vn Oct 13)