The Asian Development Bank's board of directors has approved a $500 million short-term loan for the Philippines to counter the global economic crisis, the bank said Monday. It is the first approval of a loan from the Manila-based lender's $3 billion facility that is aimed at supporting developing economies as they increase fiscal spending in response to the economic crisis. To be eligible to access the fund, developing member countries must be adversely affected by the global economic crisis, demonstrate sound economic policies and have a program to stimulate the economy amid the downturn. Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have pending requests for loans from the facility, which are subject to approval by the ADB's board. The loan will help close the Philippine government's budget financing gap for this year and support its 2009 budget expenditure program to counter the crisis, including labor-intensive infrastructure projects, the bank said.
