Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said on Friday it had approved a $750 million (Dh2.75 billion) loan to the Philippines to help the country cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
The project, which will be co-financed by the Asian Development Bank, is intended to increase testing capacity, support vulnerable sectors like agriculture, and provide emergency assistance to poor households, according to a statement.
Over one million small enterprises will also benefit from wage subsidies as part of the project, it said.
The loan is part of a $10bn funding facility the AIIB has announced to help public and private sector entities deal with the pandemic.
The Philippines’ health ministry on Thursday reported 17 more novel coronavirus deaths and 539 new infections, the largest number of cases reported in a single day since the virus was first detected in the country.
In a bulletin, the ministry said total infections have risen to 15,588 and deaths have reached 921. The number of recovered patients was 3,598.
An inter-agency panel on coronavirus has recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte the easing of strict lockdown measures in the capital, which accounts for most of the coronavirus cases and deaths, to restart economic activity.