Asian Development Bank

What Is the Asian Development Bank?

The Asian Development Bank's primary mission is to foster growth and cooperation among countries in the Asia-Pacific Region. Founded in 1966 and based in Manila, Philippines, the ADB assists members and partners by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.

The ADB has been responsible for major projects in the region and raises capital regularly through the international bond markets. The ADB also relies on member contributions, retained earnings from lending, and the repayment of loans for the funding of the organization.

How the Asian Development Bank Works

The Asian Development Bank provides assistance to its developing member countries, the private sector, and public-private partnerships through grants, loans, technical assistance, and equity investments to promote development. The ADB regularly facilitates policy dialogues and provides advisory services. They also use co-financing operations that tap official, commercial, and export credit sources while providing assistance.

Membership in the ADB is open to members and associate members of the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East. It's also open to other regional countries and non-regional developed countries that are members of the U.N. or of any of its specialized agencies. 

Recent Initiatives

Since early 2020, the ADB has committed more than US$17.5 billion to help its developing member countries address the impacts of the 2020 crisis and address vaccination needs, and has mobilized a further $12.5 billion in co-financing from partners. Through a $9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility, or APVAX, announced in December 2020, the ADB is providing funding for vaccine procurement, logistics, and distribution.

ADB Members

From 31 members at its establishment in 1966, ADB has since grown to 68 members — of which 49 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside. Membership as of July 2021 includes:

ADB Regional Members

Year of membership

Afghanistan

Brunei Darussalam

Cook Islands

Federated States of Micronesia

Hong Kong, China

Kyrgyz Republic

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Marshall Islands

New Zealand

Papua New Guinea

People's Republic of China

Philippines

Republic of Korea

Solomon Islands

Taipei,China

Timor-Leste

Turkmenistan

Source: Asian Development Bank

ADB Non-Regional Members

Year of membership

Netherlands

Switzerland

United Kingdom

United States

Source: Asian Development Bank

Structure of the Asian Development Bank

The Agreement Establishing the Asian Development Bank, known as the ADB Charter, vests all the powers of the institution in the Board of Governors, which in turn delegates some of these powers to the Board of Directors. The Board of Governors meets formally once a year during ADB's Annual Meeting. The ADB's highest policy-making body is its Board of Governors, which comprises one representative from each member.

The two largest shareholders of the Asian Development Bank are the United States and Japan. Although the majority of the Bank's members are from the Asia-Pacific region, the industrialized nations are also well-represented. Regional development banks usually work in harmony with both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in their activities.

The two largest shareholders of the Asian Development Bank are the United States and Japan.