ASTANA — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has greenlit a $350 million policy-based loan to fortify Kazakhstan’s fiscal governance and financial sector resilience, marking the first policy-based loan for Kazakhstan aimed at steering the nation’s economic trajectory amidst global uncertainties, the ADB’s press service reported.
Since Kazakhstan became the first Central Asian country to join ADB in 1994, the bank has approved over $6.8 billion in government and private sector loans. Photo credit: Cheryl Ravelo/Reuters.
ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov emphasized the centrality of Kazakhstan’s ongoing reforms in fortifying fiscal management, transparency, sustainability, and governance.
The Fiscal Governance and Financial Sector Reforms Program by ADB will be pivotal in supporting fiscal reforms that enhance governance and accountability in public investment processes, ensuring debt sustainability. Additionally, the program will bolster the financial governance framework of the National Fund of Kazakhstan to promote transparency and fiduciary control.
According to the ADB Principal Financial Sector Economist Joao Pedro Farinha the ADB’s program will help create an enabling environment critical to developing the government securities market and introducing climate policy accounting and assessment.
“It will also support women in particular via gender-responsive budgeting and help to institutionalize public support for women’s entrepreneurship development,” he said.
According to the ADB’s press statement, the program supports policies that foster sustainable financial intermediation, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. The reforms will help enhance banking supervision’s effectiveness and promote financing towards environmentally responsive investments.
To support the implementation of the program’s key reform actions, ADB will provide a $650,000 technical assistance grant. Additionally, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is expected to contribute a parallel co-financing of $350 million for subprogram 1.
Since Kazakhstan became the first Central Asian country to join ADB in 1994, the bank has approved over $6.8 billion in government and private sector loans and grants to finance technical assistance. ADB’s commitment to Kazakhstan includes efforts to develop and upgrade regional connectivity, support private sector enterprises, foster gender and social equality, and deliver knowledge products and services.
The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program is integral in these initiatives, aligning with ADB’s broader commitment to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific. Established in 1966, ADB is owned by 68 members, 49 of which are from the region.
