July 26, 2003	Saturday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 25, 1424

KARACHI, July 25: The Asian Development Bank provided $400 million as financial assistance to Pakistan’s private sector during the last 20 years.

“The number projects which benefited from the ADB is 27,” ADB country manager Marshuk Ali Shah said in a presentation to the businessmen here on Thursday night.

Showing further break-up of assistance, he said the equity participation by the bank has been $24 million, loans $242 million, underwriting $4 million and complementary $130 million.

He also identified the projects in various sectors that included 16 projects in leasing sector, four in banks, five in financial services, and two in infrastructure development.

Mr Marshuk said other main investments were in the energy and infrastructure sectors like power producers, oil terminal operations, fertilizers and cement.

He said Pakistan remained the largest recipient of private sector financing from the ADB.

He also identified various sectors including small and medium enterprises, infrastructure development, agriculture, financial and capital markets, environment and human resource development as priority areas in working with the private sector.

The ADB country manager said the instruments which could be availed by the private sector included loans in foreign and local currency without sovereign guarantees, equity instruments, partial credit guarantee, partial risk guarantee (sovereign risks), and complementary financial scheme.

About the exposure limit of a single project, he said currently it was 25 per cent of project cost or $50 million, whichever was lower while group exposure limit was $80 million or equivalent three projects.

Mr Marshuk said the slow growth in private sector investment had been identified as a major challenge facing Pakistan’s economy. The reasons for low investment growth could be attributed to factors relating to both the macroeconomic environment as well as inhibitions and challenges faced by the private sector.—APP