Asian Development Bank To Help Boost Inclusive Growth In Maldives

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - A US$7.5 million loan from the ADB to Maldives will help strengthen private sector development and promote inclusive growth in one of the fastest growing economies in South Asia.

The technical assistance loan, signed at ADB Headquarters on Tuesday, will begin this month and will be used to develop and expand the Maldives micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME), as well as build capacity to enable and promote public-private partnerships (PPP) for the development of infrastructure.

"This is the first loan signed and to be executed between the ADB and the new Maldivian government, which came into office in November 2008," the ADB said in a press statement.

The Maldives, a small island economy in the Indian Ocean, has grown at an average rate of 7.9 per cent over the past 15 years, largely driven by tourism, which accounts for 33 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Even though the Maldives is one of the fastest growing economies in the region, the benefits of growth are concentrated around the capital island of Male, home to one third of the country's 321,000 population, the ADB said.