AIIB okays $750 million loan to India for COVID-19 response

The current loan will be the second for India under AIIB’s COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility.

Beijing-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a $750 million loan to India to help the government strengthen its battle against the adverse impact of COVID-19 pandemic on poor and vulnerable households.

Co-financed with the Asian Development Bank, the budgetary support will go toward bolstering economic aid for businesses, including for the informal sector, expanding social safety nets for the needy, and strengthening the country’s health care systems, the multilateral agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

AIIB’s sovereign loans to India that have already been approved amount to $3.06 billion, including a recent $500-million COVID-19 emergency response. The current loan will be the second for India under AIIB’s COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility. China is the largest shareholder in AIIB with a 26.06 per cent voting power, followed by India with a 7.62 per cent voting power. “Our support to India aims to ensure economic resilience to prevent long-term damage to productive capacity, including human capital,” said AIIB vice president, investment operations, DJ Pandian.