On January 18th, 2024, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and British International Investment (BII), initiated a collaboration to foster green trade in the Asia-Pacific region. Administered by ADB's Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program (TSCFP), this initiative will give precedence to areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, and climate-smart agriculture.
The collaboration in financing with BII aligns with TSCFP's commitment to promoting global trade and supply chains that are environmentally friendly, inclusive, resilient, and socially responsible. Additionally, it contributes to TSCFP's efforts to address the substantial global trade finance gap, which is estimated to exceed $2.5 trillion annually. This is achieved by introducing new trade financing capacity to the market.
ADB and BII are set to engage in a risk-sharing agreement aimed at facilitating international banks in enhancing their financial assistance to local banks. Initially, this support will concentrate on transactions in Vietnam and later expand to encompass other countries backed by ADB and BII.
The collaborative effort will extend financing to local importers dealing with solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and agricultural goods. This initiative is designed to bolster the region's shift toward cleaner sources of energy.
"As Asia’s climate bank, ADB is committed to supporting green, climate-smart, and sustainable trade to reduce climate impacts by promoting the transition to renewable energy sources," said ADB Director General for Private Sector Operations Suzanne Gaboury. "Partnerships like this with BII demonstrate ADB’s leadership in convening multilateral institutions to deploy trade financing solutions that promote sustainable, trade-based international development."
