The Asian Development Bank (ADB), one of the major development partners of Bangladesh, will provide direct loans to Bangladesh's private sector businessmen for implementing projects in mainly infrastructure and financial sectors, local daily The Financial Express reported Monday.

"We are ready to provide loans to the private sector entrepreneurs if they come forward with potential projects," the daily quoted an ADB official as saying.

In infrastructure sector funding, he said, ADB attaches priority to energy (power and hydrocarbons), water supply, waste management and treatment, telecommunication, roads, ports, airports, and light rail system.

In the financial sector, he said, ADB will provide loan to private financial intermediaries such as banks and non-banking financial institutions so that these institutions can, in turn, finance small and medium enterprises and micro enterprises.

"We have recently begun to extend assistance to private sector ventures in the social sector, particularly in healthcare, education, housing and environment protection system, which will help the poor get essential social services," said the ADB official.

The ADB official said the rate of interest of ADB credit is negotiable. The ADB normally gives priority to such projects that reduce poverty and improve the standards of living of the poor, he said.

Regarding the criteria that the ADB uses to evaluate projects, he said a project must be financially viable with significant economic and social merit.

"We evaluate the technical feasibility, marketing prospects, financial and economic viability, environmental soundness and commitment to best practices of corporate governance," he said.

The ADB's total support, he said, for any project may not exceed 25 percent of the total cost of the project or 75 million U. S. dollars, whichever is lesser.

"If necessary, we will mobilize additional fund from other banks, through parallel financing, co-financing, or guarantees. In such cases, our total assistance may exceed 25 percent of the project cost, but should still be below 50 percent," the official said. Loan maturity period can be as long as 15 years, he said.

Source: Xinhua