A transaction office of Vietcombank (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Government-backed development banks of Japan, China and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have signed an agreement with public and private financial institutions in Southeast Asia to meet growing demand for infrastructure projects in the fast-growing region.
Kyodo News cited the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) as saying that JBIC, the China Development Bank and the Korea Development Bank established the ASEAN-plus-Three Inter-Bank Cooperation Mechanism in response to the strong financial need in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The scheme aims to "provide financial support based on the global standards such as openness, transparency, economic viability, debt sustainability, and compliance with laws and regulations for the development of the region," the Japanese lender said.
"Such financial support will benefit the country where the project is located and the origination of bankable projects, and thus lead to sound development of the entire region," it said.
ASEAN participants in the project are PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk. of Indonesia, Canadia Bank PLC of Cambodia, DBS Bank Ltd. of Singapore, Kasikornbank Public Co. of Thailand, CIMB Group Sdn Bhd of Malaysia, Myanma Foreign Trade Bank of Myanmar, BDO Unibank Inc. of the Philippines, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Berhad of Brunei, Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), and Lao Development Bank of Laos.
The agreement was struck on the sidelines of a summit involving leaders of Japan, China, the RoK and ASEAN in November 2019 on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand.
ASEAN groups 10 member states, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam./.
VNA
