BRICS Bank grants over USD 1 billion COVID-19 assistance loan to China

BEIJING: The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) on Tuesday approved another 7 billion yuan (about USD 1.08 billion) of emergency assistance loan to support China's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the second emergency loan for the same amount approved by the NDB to help China fight the pandemic.

The previous 7 billion-yuan loan was endorsed and paid in 2020. The Shanghai-based bank had also fully disbursed USD 1 billion loan to India under emergency assistance programme last year, to support the government in containing the COVID-19 outbreak and reduce human, social and economic losses.

The latest loan to China will support the restoration of production activities, stabilise employment, promote sustainable economic development, a statement from the bank said.

India this year has taken over as the rotating chair of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and is set to hold the annual summit of the five-member bloc.

In April 2020, the bank set up a mechanism to offer emergency assistance program loans to its member countries, assisting them in combating the pandemic.

It has so far approved seven anti-virus-related emergency loans, totalling about USD 7 billion.

The NDB is a multilateral development bank founded in 2014 by BRICS member countries to support infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the BRICS countries and other emerging economies. It formally opened on July 21, 2015 in the eastern Chinese metropolis, Shanghai.