COLOMBO, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved 200 million U.S. dollars as a concessional loan to Sri Lanka to help stabilize the island country's finance sector, the ADB said on Friday.
The ADB said in a statement that the Financial Sector Stability and Reforms Program consists of two subprograms of 200 million dollars each and this is the second subprogram.
The first subprogram, aimed at short-term stabilization and crisis management measures, was implemented in 2023.
This subprogram will be implemented in 2024 and focuses on structural reforms and long-term actions to restore growth in the banking sector, the ADB said.
The program will help strengthen the stability and governance of the South Asian country's banking sector; improve the banking sector's asset quality; and deepen sustainable and inclusive finance, particularly for women-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, the ADB said.
"The program's overarching development objective is fully aligned with the country's strategy of maintaining finance sector stability, while ensuring that banks are well-positioned for eventual recovery," said ADB Country Director for Sri Lanka Takafumi Kadono.
The ADB said this loan is accompanied by a million-dollar grant from the ADB's Technical Assistance Special Fund to provide advisory, knowledge and institutional capacity building for Sri Lanka's Ministry of Finance and central bank. ■