Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was established in 1966 with New Zealand as a founding-regional member. The ADB's aim is to accelerate economic development in developing countries in Asia and the South Pacific. The organisation is modeled on the World Bank and, like the World Bank, provides loans at commercial and concessional rates. Concessional lending takes place through the Asian Development Fund (ADF), the "soft-loan" window of the ADB.
Role of the ADB
The functions and objectives of the ADB are to:
- Promote investment in the Asian and Pacific regions of public and private capital for development purposes;
- Utilise the resources at its disposal for financing the development of the developing member countries in the region, giving priority to those regional and sub-regional as well as national projects and programmes which will contribute most effectively to the harmonious economic growth of the region as a whole, and having special regard to the needs of the smaller or less developed member countries in the region;
- Help members co-ordinate their development polices and plans;
- Provide technical assistance for members' development projects and plans; and
- Co-operate with other international organisations that are concerned with the investment of development banks.
Membership
The Bank currently has 67 members, 48 from inside the Asian and South Pacific region and 19 others outside. The 48 regional members include developing countries. The 17 non-regional members are all West European and North American countries (who contribute resources to the ADB).
The 67 member countries are divided into 12 constituencies. New Zealand is in a constituency with 6 other members at the ADB. These groups are usually regionally or geographically grouped. The members of New Zealand's constituency are:
| Country | % of Total Vote at Asia Development Bank |
|---|---|
| Indonsesia | 4.65 |
| New Zealand | 1.52 |
| Kyrgyz Republic | 0.54 |
| Fiji | 0.35 |
| Tonga | 0.30 |
| Samoa | 0.30 |
| Cook Islands | 0.30 |
Voting Power
The voting power of each member country depends on the country's share of the so-called basic and proportional votes. Each member receives an allocation of 14,356 basic votes. Further votes are allocated in direct proportion to the country's holding of capital stock. These are known as proportional votes. Under the Articles of Agreement, the non-regional members cannot, in total, hold more than 40% of the capital stock. Currently, they hold about 35%.
Board of Governors
All the powers of the Bank are vested in the Board of Governors, which consists of a Governor appointed by each member country. Each country also appoints an Alternate Governor. New Zealand's Governor of the ADB is the Treasurer/Minister of Finance. The Alternate Governor is the Secretary to the Treasury. The Board of Governors meets annually.
Board of Executive Directors
The Board of Governors elects a 12-person Board of Directors, which is based full-time at the Bank's headquarters in Manila. Eight of the Directors represent regional constituencies, and four represent non-regional constituencies. Directors are elected from within each constituency. The Board of Directors conducts the daily business of the Bank. In particular, the Directors advise the Governors on matters of policy and also approve all the Bank's loans, guarantees, equity investments, and borrowings. The Board of Governors also appoints a President to Chair the Board of Directors. The current President of the ADB is Haruhiko Kuroda from Japan.
New Zealand Funding for the ADB
New Zealand is a regional member but as a donor is not entitled to borrow from the Bank. Accordingly, New Zealand is in a similar position to a non-regional member, and contributes to the ADB's resources only.
New Zealand owns 54,340 shares in the ADB. Our share of the Bank's capital is 1.53%. The shares are part-paid as at 30 June 2008, the paid-in portion totalled US$81.4 million and the uncalled portion US$1,080.7 million.
