British International Investment (BII), the UK government’s development finance institution and impact investor, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday announced a new partnership to finance up to $100 million of green trade transactions in the Asia-Pacific region.
The partnership will be managed through ADB’s Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program (TSCFP) and will focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate-smart agriculture to help reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
BII and ADB will enter into a risk-sharing agreement to help international banks increase their financing support to local banks. This support will initially focus on Vietnam transactions and will be subsequently extended to other countries supported by BII and ADB.
This partnership will provide financing for local importers of solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and agricultural goods, supporting the region’s transition to cleaner sources of energy.
The financing partnership with BII is part of TSCFP’s mission to make global trade and supply chains green, inclusive, resilient, and socially responsible. It also boosts TSCFP’s work in reducing the global trade finance gap, estimated at more than $2.5 trillion annually, by bringing new trade financing capacity to market.
“This collaboration with BII will strengthen ADB TSCFP’s capacity to further grow green supply chains in Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on energy transition goods that are essential for tackling climate change,” said Suzanne Gaboury, director general for private sector operations at ADB.