Asian Development Bank pledges more aid to Vietnam: central bank

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) pledged to sponsor 11 projects and programs in Vietnam in 2014, with total capital of 1.363 billion U.S. dollars, said the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

Local Thoi Bao Kinh Te Vietnam (Vietnam Economic Times or VET) on Tuesday quoted an announcement by SBV as saying that since the beginning of 2014, ADB and SBV have completed negotiations for seven projects and programs worth 878 million U.S. dollars.

Till the end of 2014, the two sides are expected to conclude negotiations for the rest of four projects and programs worth of 485 million U.S. dollars, according to the SBV.

The ADB's annual loan program aims to promote the development of transportation, energy, agriculture, natural resources, clean water supply, finance, education, infrastructure facilities and urban services among others in Vietnam, said the announcement.

Cumulatively, as of the end of September 2014, ADB has offered Vietnam over 13.1 billion U.S. dollars. Among those, some 12.7 billion U.S. dollars were loans for 157 projects and programs. Technical assistance cost around 253.5 million U.S. dollars while non-refundable aid made up 170 million U.S. dollars, reported VET.