The board of directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a combined $500 million in loans to two Turkish development banks to help bolster liquidity in the country amid the ongoing economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release on Friday
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2020) The board of directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a combined $500 million in loans to two Turkish development banks to help bolster liquidity in the country amid the ongoing economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release on Friday.
"The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's (AIIB) Board of Directors has approved loans totaling USD500 million to two development banks in Turkey, backed by a government guarantee, to alleviate liquidity constraints faced by Turkish companies in infrastructure and other productive sectors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic," an AIIB press release read.
The funds will be used to allow the two banks to provide lending to corporations and small- and medium-sized businesses in the infrastructure sector, according to the press release. The loans will cover operating expenses, liabilities, and the protection of short-term assets, the AIIB added.
Ibrahim Oztop, the general manager of the TKYB bank, one of the two financial institutions to receive the loans from the China-led AIIB, said that the funds will be vital to aid Turkey's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We believe that the additional resources secured by our Bank from development finance institutions like AIIB will contribute towards Turkey's domestic efforts to support the country's production potential and offset the negative effects the COVID-19 outbreak is having on economic activity and employment," Oztop said in the press release.
Since the start of the outbreak, more than 202,000 cases of the coronavirus disease have been registered in Turkey and the country's death toll stands at 5,167. On Thursday, public health officials in the country registered 1,186 new positive tests for the disease, a decrease of six from the 1,192 new cases reported on Wednesday.
