Illustrative image (Photo: Cambodiadaily) Phnom Penh (VNA) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicts Cambodia will suffer 390,000 job losses this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On July 8, the ADB approved a 250 million USD loan to further help the Cambodian government respond to the pandemic.
ADB country director in Cambodia Sunniya Durrani-Jamal said on July 15 that the concessional loan will have a 24-year term, including a grace period of eight years.
The loan will have an interest rate of one percent per annum during the grace period, and 1.5 percent thereafter.
Besides the loan, the ADB will provide grants to Cambodia as well as technical assistance for its cash transfer programme.
Following the loan’s approval, Cambodia will be eligible for support under the 5 million USD Policy Advice for Covid-19 Economic Recovery technical assistance programme, Durrani-Jamal said.
The ADB’s financial support, she said, will be targeted at businesses, households and individuals that have been adversely affected by the crisis, with a special emphasis on poor and vulnerable groups.
Ministry of Economy and Finance spokesman Meas Sok Sensan said the loan details will be released during the contract signing, which does not yet have a date.
People’s Centre for Development and Peace President Yong Kim Eng said the loan will help Cambodia’s economic recovery and take poor families out of poverty if it is spent wisely.
The loan must be spent transparently and effectively. It must be clearly audited by other agencies or by all relevant stakeholders, he said./.
VNA
