ADB plans to co-finance projects with China's lenders: China Daily

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to work with China's lenders to co-finance Asian projects outside China, ADB vice-president Stephen Groff was quoted on Friday as saying. ADB has signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Development Bank (CDB) and Export-Import Bank of China to "look for opportunities outside China," the China Daily newspaper reported from its interview with Groff. The ADB had not yet identified appropriate projects for co-investment, Groff noted. The moves toward cooperation come amid the emergence of new institutions such as the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, with initial capital of $50 billion. The ADB has a capital base of S165 billion, while the China Development Bank's total assets stand at $1.6 trillion. "It can be $1 from the ADB, $1 from the World Bank, $1 from the AIIB, and (we will) encourage multiple additional dollars from other sources," Groff told the newspaper. "The ADB has a goal of eliminating poverty in the Asia-Pacific region. We aim to achieve this goal largely through infrastructure," he said. Last month, ADB President Takehiko Nakao said that it could cooperate with the AIIB through co-financing if the ADB's standards for loans were met. (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Eric Meijer)