May 3 (Reuters) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Sunday launched a new financing scheme to help countries in Asia and the Pacific develop supply chains for critical minerals used in clean energy, batteries, electric vehicles, and digital technology.
The scheme will help Asian countries prepare projects and finance infrastructure for the processing, manufacturing and recycling of critical minerals, the ADB said in a statement.
“Asia and the Pacific should be more than a source of raw materials. The region should also capture the jobs, technology, and value these minerals provide,” ADB President Masato Kanda said at the bank’s annual meeting in Samarkand.
“This facility is about urgency and fairness: building responsible supply chains now, so our developing member countries can compete in advanced manufacturing and create opportunities at home,” he said.
Korea Eximbank and the Korean Trade Insurance Corporation, known as K-SURE, had each signed a $500 million memorandum as the facility’s first partners. Japan and the UK had contributed smaller amounts for grants to cover early work on projects.
(Reporting by Leika KiharaEditing by Peter Graff)
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