PAGENO="0001"
COy. DOG.
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT
AMENDMENTS OF 1968
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NINETIETH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
H.R. 13217
A BILL TO AUTHORIZE THE APPROPRIATION OF $200,000,000
FOR A UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTION TO MULTILATERAL
SPECIAL FUNDS OF THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
FEBRVARY 27, 1968
Printed for the use of the Committee on Banking and Currency
0.
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
90-6140 WASHINGTON: 1968
I
/
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COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY
WILLIAM A. BARRETT, Pennsylvania
LEONOR K. SULLIVAN, Missouri
HENRY S. REUSS, Wisconsin
THOMAS L. ASHLEY, Ohio
WILLIAM S. MOO RHEAD, Pennsylvania
ROBERT G. STEPHENS, JR., Georgia
FERNAND J. ST GERMAIN, Rhode Island
HENRY B. GONZALEZ, Texas
JOSEPH G. MINISH, New Jersey
RICHARD P. HANNA, California
TOM S. GETTYS, South Carolina
PRANK ANNUNZIO, Illinois
THOMAS M. REES, California
JONATHAN B. BINGIIAM, New York
NICK GALIFIANAKIS, North Carolina
TOM BEVILL, Alabama
WILLIAM B. WIDNALL, New Jersey
PAUL A. FINO, New York
FLORENCE P. DWYER, New Jergey
SEYMOUR HALI'ERN, New York
W. E. (BILL) BROCK, Tennessee
DEL CLAWSON, California
ALBERT W. JOHNSON, Pennsylvania
J. WILLIAM STANTON, Ohio
CHESTER L. MIZE, Kansas
SHERMAN P. LLOYD, Utah
BENJAMIN B. BLACKBURN, Georgia
GARRY BROWN, Michigan
LAWRENCE G. WILLIAMS, Pennsylvania
CHALMERS P. WYLIE, Ohio
PAUL NELSON, Clerk and ,Staff Director
ALVIN LEE MORSE, Counsel
CURTIs A. PRIN5, Chief Investigator
BENET D. GELLMAN, Investigative Counsel
ORMAN S. FINE, Minority Staff Member
SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
HENRY S. REUSS, Wisconsin, Chairman
SEYMOUR HALPERN, New York
WILLIAM B. WIDNALL, New Jersey
ALBERT W. JOHNSON, Pennsylvania
J. WILLIAM STANTON, Ohio
CHESTER L. MIZE, Kansas
WRIGHT PATMAN, Texas, Chairman
THOMAS L. ASHLEY, Ohio
WILLIAM S. MOORHEAD, Pennsylvania
HENRY B. GONZALEZ, Texas
RICHARD T. HANNA, California
THOMAS M. REES, California
JONATHAN B. BINGHAM, New York
II
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CONTENTS
Page
Text of H.R. 13217
Statement of Hon. Eugene R. Black, special adviser to the President on
Asian Economic and Social Development; accompanied by Hon. Joseph
W. Barr,~jJnder Secretary of the Treasury; and Hon. Bernard Zagorin,
U.S. Director, Asian Development Bank 37
Additional information submitted for the record:
Barr, Hon. Joseph W.: Official bilateral aid to developing members
of the Asian Development Bank by developed members of Asian
Bank (tables 1-8) 4959
Black, Hon. Eugene R.:
Exchange of letters between the Malaysian Foreign Minister and
the President of the Asian Development Bank regarding the
Southeast Asian transport survey 82
Exchange of letters between Secretary Rusk and the Canadian
Secretary of State for External Affairs regarding contributior~s
to special funds of the Asian Development Bank 85
Government of the Netherlands aid to West Irian 73
"The Doors Are Open," selected addresses by Takeshi Watanabe,
President, Asian Development Bank 141
Reuss, Hon. Henry S.:
Letter from-
Knoppers, Antonie T., senior vice president, Merck & Co.,
Inc., enclosing statement of the Development Committee
of the United States Council of the International Chamber
ofCommerce 90
Neely, Frances E., associate secretary, Friends Committee
on National Legislation 87
Rusk, Hon. Dean, Secretary of State, to Hon. Wright
Patman, Chairman of the House Committee on Banking
and Currency, urging support of H. R. 13217 87
Southard, Shelby Edward, Cooperative League of the USA,
stating position of the League on H. R. 13217 88
President's message to Congress entitled "Peace in Asia" 2
Special report of the National Advisory Council on International
Monetary and Financial Policies on U.S. participation in pro-
posed special funds of the Asian Development Bank 7
Statement of Mrs. Robert J. Stuart, president, League of Women
Voters of the United States 89
Telegram from-
Rockefeller, David, president, Chase Manhattan Bank,
New York, N.Y., in support of proposed legislation 86
Schuck, Miss Victoria, legislative program commissioner, and
Miss Gwendolen Carter, area representative in world prob-
lems,American Association of University Women, urging
appropriation for special funds 90
Zagorin, Hon. Bernard:
Address by Takeshi Watanabe, President, Asian Development
Bank, to Consultative Committee on Asian Agricultural Survey,
February 26, 1968 40
Article l9-"Special Funds"-Excerpt from Bank charter per-
taining to set-aside provisions of paid-in capital 68
Asian Development Bank ordinary operations-Summary of
investments held and cash in banks and demand obligations of
members, as of December 31, 1967 (tables) 77
Background information and materials relating to membership
of the United States in the Asian Development Bank 113
Cash in banks and demand obligations of members, December 31,
1967
III
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IV CONTENTS
Additional information submitted for the record-Continued
Zagorin, Hon. Bernard-Continued
Estimated effect of World Bank operations on U.S. balance of Page
payments
Estimated impact of 1DB ordinary capital on U.S. balance of
payments, 1963-67 74
"Observations on the Asian Development Bank" 78
Summary of investments held by the Asian Development Bank,
December 31, 1967
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ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS
OF 1968
TUESDAY, PEBRUARY 27, 1968
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
OF THE COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURR]~NCY,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, at 10:05 a.m., in room 2128, Rayburn
House Office Building, Hon. Henry S. Reuss (chairman of the sub-
committee) presiding.
Present: Representatives Reuss, Moorhead, Gonzalez, Rees, Bing-
ham, Widnall, Stanton, and Mize.
Mr. REUSS. Gentlemen, will you take your seats, please.
Good morning. The Subcommittee on International Finance will
be in order for the hearings on HR. 13217, a bill which would au-
thorize the appropriation of $200 million for the U.S. contribution
to multilateral special funds of the Asian Development Bank.
Our witnesses this morning include the Honorable Eugene Black,
Special Adviser to the President, and for many years a good and faith-
ful servant of the American people; our old friend, the Under Secre-
tary of the Treasury, the Ho~n orable Joseph Barr; and our effective
U.S. Director of the Bank, the Honorable Bernard Zagorin.
Mr. Barr, will you identify the other gentlemen for the record?
Mr. BARR. I have with me Mr. Hirschtritt and Mr. Niblock is
with Mr. Black.
Mr. REUSS. I will place at this point in the record a copy of the
bill-H.R. 13217; a copy of the President's message to Congress
from the first session of the 90th Congress on this subject, and,
thirdly, a special report of the National Advisory Council on Inter-
national Monetary and Financial Policies on this legislation, dated
September 26, 1967.
Without objection, they will be received.
(The material referred to follows:)
[HR. 13217, 90th Cong., second sess.]
A BILL To authorize the appropriation of $200,000,000 for a United States contribution to multilateral
special funds of the Asian Development Bank
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled, That it is the sense of the Congress that-
(a) the United States national interests would be served by an expanded
cooperation in a multilateral effort for the acceleration of economic and social
progress of the developing nations of Asia and that this is important to the
achievement of peace and stability in that region;
(b) such progress can best be advanced by the continued cooperation of
regional and other interested countries;
1
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2 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
(c) the Asian Development Bank, established as a result of Asian initiative
is well designed to formulate and execute cooperative programs that will
promote regional development;
(d) the United States should participate with other interested contributing
countries in financing, through special funds of the Asian Development
Bank, regional programs in areas such as agriculture, transportation, Mekong
development and other priority areas, on terms which are not appropriate
to the Bank's ordinary lending activities;
(e) in participating in such activities of the Bank, the President should
insure that the contribution of the United States represents a minority of
the total contributions of all contributing countries, that it is used in a
manner designed to safeguard the balance of payments of the United States,
and that it is devoted to meeting the priority needs of the countries of the
area.
SEC. 2. In order that the United States may respond to Asian initiatives and join
in a multilateral effort to provide assistance to the developing nations of Asia
consistent with the provisions of section 1, there is hereby authorized to be
appropriated to the President without fiscal year limitation $200,000,000 which
shall remain available until expended for United States participation in special
funds of the Asian Development Bank.
THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE TO CONGRESS
[H. Doe. 171, 90th Cong., first sess.]
PEACE IN ASIA
To the Congress of the United States:
This generation of Americans knows the importance of peace in Asia.
Twice since 1950 we have fought for the right of small Asian nations to be free
from coercion by their neighbors. In Vietnam this struggle continues. It will
continue so long-and only so long-as aggression persists.
Yet lasting peace in Asia requires much more than resistance to armed
aggression.
Peace will come to stay when despair gives way to hope . . . when insurrec-
tion gives way to peaceful opportunity . . . when hunger gives way to harvests.
Peace in Asia will rest on the citizen's trust-in his government, in his nation's
economy, and, most of all, in his ability to improve the conditions of his life.
Asians must create this trust. Only they can decide to build the schools, the
roads, the dams, and the clinics that provide the foundations of trust. Only they
can decide to put aside their ancient differences and join in a common effort to
improve the life of all.
There is good reason to believe that Asia has made that choice.
Hope is a living fact in the rugged hills of Korea, in the thriving cities of Thai-
land, and in the lush rice land of the Indonesian Archipelago.
Free Asia has determined to break the vise of poverty which has killed and
maimed many more Asians than all the wars ever fought.
The nations of Asia are working together to provide more food, better housing,
and more education for their growing numbers. They have given a clear signal to
the world that they are ready to make the sacrifices progress demands.
And they have asked for help.
These are the facts. They are established by the reports of Mr. Eugene Black,
my Special Advisor on Asian Development. They are confirmed by the many
Senators and Congressmen of both parties who joined in the founding of the
Asian Bank.
Mr. Black has traveled widely in Asia in the past 30 months. He has talked
with nearly every Asian leader. His careful judgment is that the hopeful signs in
Asia are real.
With his help, we have begun the transition from American programs to build
Asia to world programs to build Asia.
The Asian Bank was born out of the belief that international cooperation is not
only possible and desirable, but absolutely necessary to the growth of freedom
and prosperity in Asia. It united thirty-one nations, and distributed the financial
burden of assisting Asia among them.
After consultation with Mr. Black, with senior officials of the United States
Government and with many members of the Congress, I propose that we join
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ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 3
with other nations to strengthen this international instrument of peace and
progress.
I propose that the Congress authorize a United States contribution of up to $f~OO
million to new Special Funds of the Asian Development Bank.
This authorization will not involve any budget expenditures in Fiscal 1968,
Our contribution would be made over four years, and would constitute a
minority share of total contributions to the Special Funds.
This must not and will not be an American effort alone. The development of the
most populous region of the earth affects every nation. It must be supported by
all who are able to help.
Several leaders of the Congress and the Nation have urged that we transform
the bulk of our foreign assistance from bilateral aid programs to multilateral,
cooperative efforts where all the wealthy nations of the world join to help the
developing nations through the World Bank, regional development associations,
and other multilateral arrangements.
We look to the day when our foreign assistance can be handled under those
arrangements.
The proposal I make today is a step in this direction. It is an example of multi-
lateral assistance that we fervently hope will be followed increasingly in the years
ahead in Asia and throughout the developing world.
THE PEACEFUL REVoLUTIoN IN ASIA
Free Asia has done more in the last two years to create a true community of
interest among its peoples than in all the long centuries that went before. Here is
part of that extraordinary record:
-Asian initiative founded the Asian Development Bank with assets of $1
billion, to finance development projects throughout the great arc from
Afghanistan to Korea.
-Nine nations joined to form the Asian and Pacific Council, the first regular
forum for discussion of the full range of Asian problems.
-The nations of Southeast Asia and Indonesia formed a subregional associa-
tion to foster better understanding and economic cooperation.
-The Mekong Coordinating Committee and other existing agencies moved
with new energy and urgency, producing such important projects as the
Nam Ngum Dam in Laos.
Asians are gaining new insights into the needs of their region:
-The Asian Development Bank is sponsoring a comprehensive study of
Asian agriculture which will identify the specific projects necessary to
meet the food crisis of the next decade.
-The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education are planning regional centers
of academic excellence, to open the way toward improved education, more
broadly shared among their peoples.
-Led by Malaysia, representatives of eight Asian nations met last week to
plan the transportation and communications networks Asia needs to achieve
trade, travel and economic integration.
These are the beginnings of a peaceful revolution in Asia-a constructive
revolution which serves not just the interests of the United States, but of all
humanity.
It is a revolution which seeks to build, not to destroy; to succor, not to subvert.
But planning is only the first stage. Blueprints must become bricks and mortar.
Most of the money Asia needs must come from the Asians themselves. Some will
come from the World Bank, from national aid programs, and from private sources.
Some will come from the ordinary capital of the Asian Bank. But there remains a
gap, particularly for projects in the most critical areas-agriculture, education,
transportation and development of the Mekong River Basin.
It is that gap that I propose we help close.
THE PROPOSAL
Experience in the World Bank and with regional development banks suggests
that development finance requires two different and separate funds:
-Ordinary capital, largely to finance the foreign exchange costs of projects
which have a relatively rapid and direct return on investment, and
-Special Funds, for longer-term loans at lower interest rates, to finance the
foreign exchange costs of projects such as schools and roads which do not
yield immediate financial returns, but which add powerfully to economic
growth.
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4 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
This is the investment structure of the World Bank and the Inter-American
Development Bank. The 31 member nations of the Asian Development Bank have
determined that it should also be the structure of their organization.
The Asian Bank now has subscriptions totalling $1 billion in ordinary capital.
This appears sufficient for the foreseeable future.
Today's need is for Special Funds to complement the ordinary capital. Develop-
ment cannot be limited to projects which can be financed at commercial interest
rates. Where there are factories and power plants there must also be dependable
all-weather roads, farm equipment, and clean water supplies. The Bank must be
able to lend for these long-term, as well as for short-term, necessities.
The Government of Japan has already announced that it will contribute $100
million to these Special Funds, mainly to support projects in agriculture. The
Government of Canada indicated its willingness to contribute at the Asian Bank's
inaugural meeting. Other governments have contributions under consideration.
I propose that the United States pledge up to $200 million to be provided over
four years, on the following conditions:
-The United States contribution must comprise less than one-half of the
Special Funds. The Executive Branch would make every effort to assure
that our share of total contributions is as modest as possible.
-Because of our balance of payments problem, our contributions must be
available only for the purchase of United States goods and services for use
in Asia.
-The Funds will be used only on the firm understanding that they will sup-
plement, not supplant, the efforts of Asian nations to help themselves. Self-help
will be the watchword in these programs, just as it is for all our foreign assistance.
This proposal would result in no cash disbursements during this fiscal year.
Appropriations would be sought from the Congress as other contributors pledge
their share to the Special Funds.
I believe this proposal represents our fair share.
I believe it protects our vital interests in Asia.
I believe it provides the American taxpayer with the assurance he demands, and
deserves, that his money will be put to careful and productive use.
THE ASIAN FUTURE
It is hard for any of us to visualize the face of Asia in the decades ahead. Caught
up in the trials and frustrations of the day, many people assume that the poor will
always be poor, and that this new wave of Asian determination will falter and
dissolve.
But Americans know what can be done with natural resources. We know that a
single river can transform the lives of millions. Properly developed, it can provide
food, jobs, and transport. It can be'an avenue to the bounty of modern life.
What has worked here will work in Asia.
Flowing through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, the Mekong river
drains an area 60% the size of the Missouri Basin. But only 8j~ million people
live in the Missouri Basin. Thirty million draw their sustenance from the lands
surrounding the Mekong. The Mekong's flow is eight times greater than the
Missouri's, and its hydroelectric potential is two to three times as great.
Ten solid years of work have already gone into careful and comprehensive
planning for the Mekong area. The Mekong Coordinating Committee, along with
23 donor nations and 18 United Nations agencies, have:
-invested $30 million in the most detailed study of the area.
-invested $70 million in three major projects which set the stage for full
development of the region.
-identified 34 potential tributary dam sites and completed detailed studies
on 11 of them.
-conducted feasibility studies on 3 of the 12 potential mainstream dam sites.
These are examples of the sound ideas and projects which will be financed by
the Special Funds I propose today. They are the Asian equivalents of the Erie
Canal, the Transcontinental Railroad, and the land-grant college system which
transformed our own society.
These are the productive works which build nations. They carry with them
social progress as well as economic growth. Our decision to support them is a test
of faith in our own vision. Meeting that test is as important to us as it is to Asia.
More than two years ago, when I first announced our willingness to respond to
Asian initiatives, I said:
"I would hope that all other industrialized countries, including the Soviet Union,
will join in this effort to replace despair with hope, and terror with progress.
PAGENO="0009"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 5
The task is nothing less than to enrich the hopes and the existence of more than
a hundred million people. And there is much to be done."
Much has been done since then-more than we could reasonably have hoped.
Thirty-one nations have joined to build a Bank, and the nations of Free Asia
have joined to strengthen a continent.
The task now is to capitalize on the progress of the past 30 months.
The Congress knows this record of progress. Its Members have been deeply
involved in the birth and growth of the Asian Development Bank.
Now the question is whether the United States will join other nations to provide
the Bank with a new dimension of productive effort in the basic areas of human
need.
The United States knows many needs in this critical hour. Many worthy causes
compete f or our time, our attention, and our limited resources. In the last analysis,
only the people's representatives in Congress can decide where the priorities lie.
I offer this proposal because I believe whatever we do to strengthen Asia, and
to enable her people to achieve security and growth in the years ahead~ is in our
national interest-and thus deserves consideration among our national priorities.
In that spirit and with that understanding, I urge its consideration by the
Congress.
LYNDON B. JOHNSON.
THE WHITE HOUSE, September ~d6, 1967.
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PAGENO="0011"
90th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - House Document No. 166
SPECIAL REPORT OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY
COUNCIL ON INTERNATIONAL MONETARY
AND FINANCIAL POLICIES
LETTER
FROM
THE NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL
ON INTERNATIONAL MONETARY
AND FINANCIAL POLICIES
TRANSMITTING
THE SPECIAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL ON U.S.
PARTICIPATION IN PROPOSED SPECIAL FUNDS OF
THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
w
SEPTEMBER 28, 1967.-Referred to the Committee on Banking and
Currency, and ordered to be printed
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
84-391 0 WASHINGTON: 1967
7
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8 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY,
Washngton, September 26, 1967.
Hon. JOHN W. MCCORMACK,
Speaker, House of Representatives,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR MR. SPEAKER: The National Advisory Council on Inter..
national Monetary and Financial Policies transmits herewith its
special report on U.S. participation in proposed special funds of the
Asian Development Bank.
The Council recommends Congressional authorization of a U.S.
contribution of up to $200 million to special funds under the adminis-
tration of the Asian Development Bank. As indicated in the report,
these funds would be used to support regional economic development,
primarily in Southeast Asia. U.S. funds would represent a minority
share of the total provided by developed countries, and would be used
to finance exports of U.S. goods and services. The proposal involves
no budget expenditures in fiscal year 1968.
Copies of the report are also being submitted to the President and
to the President of the Senate.
Sincerely yours,
JOSEPH W. BARR,
Acting Secretary of the Treasury, Acting Chairman, National
Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial
Policies.
NICHOLAS DEB. KATZENBACH,
Acting Secretary of State.
ALEXANDER B. TROWBRIDGE,
Secretary of Commerde.
ANDREW F'. BRIMMER,
Member, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System.
WALTER C. SAUER,
First Vice President and Vice Chairman, Export-Import Ban/c of
Washington.
HI
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ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 9
CONTENTS
Page
I. Summary of proposals and recommendatio~ ~ 1
II. Background 2
A. Asian Development Bank 2
B. Subscriptions to the Bank 3
C. Borrowing by the Bank 4
D. Voting
E. Ordinary operations 5
F. Authority for Asian Bank administration of special funds.. - - - 6
III. Analysis of the proposal 7
A. The proposal in brief 7
B. Sharing of contributions 8
C. Projects and programs to be financed under special funds. - - - 9
D. Geographic scope of special funds 13
B. Representation of interests of contributing countries 13
F. Terms of special funds assistance 14
G. Special funds and the U.S. balance of payments 15
H. Technical assistance 15
I. Form and timing of U.S. contributions 16
J. Administrative costs 16
K. ADB special funds and U.S. bilateral aid policy 16
IV. Legislative action required 17
V. Conclusion 18
ANNEXES
Annex 1. Selected econ omic indicators of less-~developed members of Asian
Development Bank 19
Annex 2. Official bilateral aid to developing members of Asian Bank by
developed members of Asian Bank 20
Annex 3. Asian initiatives toward regional cooperation and establishment
of Asian Bank special funds 22
Annex 4. Comparison of U.S. participation in international development
finance institutions 24
Annex 5. Direc tors and principal officers of the Asian Development Bank.. 24
Annex 6. Lett er from President of Asian Development Bank to Mr. Eugene
R. Black, dated August 14, 1967 24
V
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REPORT OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON INTER-
NATIONAL MONETARY AND FINANCIAL POLICIES ON
SPECIAL FUNDS OF THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
I. SUMMARY OF PROPOSALS AND RRCOMMENDATIONS
The United States joined last year with 30 other countries in estab-
lishing the Asian Development Bank. That institution is now complet-
ing its organizational phase and is well on the way toward full
operational status in the financing of economic development among its
Asian member nations. The Bank's normal operations are to consist of
levelopment financing on conventional terms along the lines proven
over time by the World Bank and, on the regional level, by the Inter-.
American Development Bank. The process of economic development,
however, requires the financing of projects that cannot be handled on
conventional repayment terms. For such projects, special funds must
be made available on terms adapted to the repayment capacity of the
borrowing country. This report deals with a proposal that the United
States join with other advanced countries in equipping the Asian
Development Bank with special funds which it will administer as
contemplated under its charter and which wifi complement its normal
loan operations.
The Asian Development Bank is itself one of the first fruits of a new
spirit of regional economic cooperation in Asia, Special funds adminis-
tered by the Asian Development Bank will play a vital role in carrying
forward the momentum of economic cooperation already achieved
among the Asian countries themselves. Planning for a number of
specific forms of such Asian regional cooperation is now in an advanced
stage. The Asian Bank has accepted in principle the administration of
a fund to speed agricultural development in the region; a comprehen-
:sive program for development of the Mekong River Basin is being
formulated through the mechanism of the Mekong Committee with
assistance of the United Nations; and a plan for a regionally integrated
system of transportation and communications in Southeast Asia is
being developed by a regional group of the nations involved. Financing
of these broad programs-which are primarily focused on Southeast
Asia-as well as key individual projects for which multilateral support
is forthcoming, would be the main purposes for the special funds now
being proposed. Such financing cannot be carried out with the re-
sources made available earlier for the Bank's ordinary operations.
As indicated in his State of the Union message in January 1967,'
President Johnson is requesting legislative authority for U.S. contri-
butions of up to $200 mfflion for a 4-year period for special funds of
the Asian Development Bank. U.S. contributions to such funds would
represent a minority of the total, the balance being made up of con-.
tributions by other developed countries. Every effort would be made
to assure that the U.S. share of total contributions is as modest as
possible. Consistent with current policies related to the U.S. balance-
11
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12 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
of-payments position, U.S. contributions would finance only the ex-
port of U.S. goods and services needed for projects and programs
financed by special funds. No cash disbursements would occur during
fiscal year 1968.
The National Advisory Council has carefully considered the present
proposal from the standpoint of U.S. financial and economic objec-
tives and the economic development objectives of the countries
involved and from the standpoint of the benefits deriving from
intensified regional cooperation among the countries of Asia. In the
Council's view, a U.S. investment in special funds under the adminis-
tration of the Asian Development Bank, like our subscription to the
capital of the Bank itself, will serve U.S. interests by promoting
peaceful economic relations in Asia.
Special funds will, moreover, take advantage of the demonstrated
willingness of other developed countries, Asian and non-Asian alike,
to increase their degree of support for development of the Asian region
through the multilateral channel of the Asian Development Bank.
Thus our interest in a more equitable sharing of the cost of development
assistance will be helped by the establishment of such funds. Without
an affimative U.S. response to the initiatives now being mounted by
the countries in the region, the forward direction of these initiatives
will falter. We strongly recommend, therefore, passage of legislation
to give the President authority to support this most promising of
avenues toward lasting peace in Asia.
II. BACKGROUND
A. ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
The Asian Development Bank came into formal existence in
August 1966 upon the ratification of its Articles of Agreement by the
United States and 14 other countries. The Bank, which has its head-
quarters in Manila, now has a membership of 31 countries, 19 of them
Asian and 12, including the United States, from outside the Asian
region. Membership of a 32d country, Switzerland, is in process. The
Bank's authorized capital is $1,100 million, of which $965 million has
been subscribed by the present membership.
The creation of the Bank is the result of Asian initiatives which
gathered momentum in late 1963 and 1964 unde~ the auspices of the
United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East
(ECAFE). Intensive preparatory work on the Bank was undertaken
in 1965 by a committee of nine Asian nations. Mr. Eugene Black-
the President's Adviser on Asian Economic and Social Development
and former president of the World Bank-worked closely with the
Asian group during this period. The decisive event insuring that the
Asian effort would have major support from outside the Asian region
was President Johnson's announcement in April 1965 that the United
States would be prepared to become a member of a properly conceived
Asian Bank. By the fall of 1965, Articles of Agreement for the Bank
had been negotiated among the Asian and interested non-Asian coun-
tries and in December 1965, an Agreement embodying the proposed
Articles was signed at Manila, subject to ratification by Governments.
Mr. Eugene Black and Under Secretary of the Treasury Joseph W.
Barr signed the Agreement on behalf of the United States.
2
PAGENO="0017"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 13
Legislation providing for U.S. membership in the Bank was sub-
mitted to the Congress in early 1966. Congressional support was bi-
partisan and prompt. On March 16, 1966, the President signed Public
Law 89-369, authorizing U.S. membership in the Bank with a sub-
scription of $200 million. The first installment of subscriptions to the
Bank was paid in September 1966. In November 1966, the Bank
Governors held their inaugural meeting in Tokyo, at which Takeshi
Watanabe, of Japan was elected the Bank's first President. The Bank's
first Board of Directors was also elected at this meeting. In December
1966, the Directors held their first formal meeting and declared the
Bank open for business. Since that time the Management has been
actively engaged in assembling a staff of high caliber, in making the
necessary arrangements for the effective conduct of the Bank's opera-
tions and in formulating operational policies that will guide the Bank,
It is estimated that the Bank's first loans will be made late this year.
B. SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE BANK
Half of each member country's subscription to the Bank's capital
stock consists of paid-in shares and half consists of shares that are
callable only if necessary to make good on borrowings by the Bank.
Payment of the paid-in capital stock is in five equal annual install-
ments of 20 percent each and half of each installment may be paid in
noninterest bearing notes or similar obligations instead of in cash. Of
the U.S. subscription of $200 million, therefore, $100 million represents
paid-in capital and $100 million represents callable capital. The first
and second of our five $20 million installments of paid-in capital have
been paid, and three further $20 million installments will be paid
in August of 1968 and the 2 succeeding years. Each of these payments
consists of $10 million in cash and $10 million in a letter of credit which
bears no interest and will be drawn only in future years when the
Bank's disbursement operations require. The $100 million of U.S. cal-
lable capital was fully subscribed-no cash payment was required-
concurrent with the first payment on paid-in capital.
The U.S. subscription to the Bank is exactly matched by the $200
million subscription of Japan. In addition, other nonregional countries
are providing subscriptions totaling $150 million. Australia and New
Zealand, within the region, are subscribing $85 million and $22.6
million respectively. Thus the total subscriptions by economically
advanced countries, including the United States, is $657.6 million. The
subscriptions of the developing country members of the Bank total
$307.4 million. The paid-in subscriptions of the economically ad-
vanced countries are payable entirely in hard currencies, whereas the
paid-in subscriptions of the developing members are payable one-half
in hard currencies and one-half in their own currencies. When pay-.
ments have been com~pleted, hard currency availabilities of the Bank
will total $367.21 million. The U.S. paid-in subscription represents
30.4 percent of the paid-in subscriptions of the advanced countries,
24.7 percent of the hard currencies available to the Bank, and 20.7
percent of total paid-in subscriptions of all countries including those
of the developing member countries.
Table 1 shows the subscriptions of member countries as of June
30, 1967.
3
90-614 O-68------2
PAGENO="0018"
14 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
TABLJS l.-Subscriptions to the original authorized capital stock of the Asian De-
velopment Bank (as of June 30, 1967)
Part A. Regional Countries Part B. Nonregional Countries
(Amount of subscription (in million U.S. dollars)] [Amount of subscription (in million U.S. dollars)]
1. Afghanistan 4. 78 1. Austria 5. 00
2. Australia 85. 00 2. Belgium 5. 00
3. Cambodia 3.50 3. Canada 25.00
4. Ceylon 8. 52 4. Denmark 5. 00
5. China, Republic of 16. 00 5. Finland 5.00
6. India 93. 00 6. Germany, Federal Republic
7. Indonesia 25. 00 of 34. OG
8. Japan 200. 00 7. Italy 20. 00
9. Korea, Republic of 30. 00 8. Netherlands ii. 00
10. Laos . 42 9. Norway 5. 00
11. Malaysia 20.00 10. Sweden 5.00
12. Nepal 2. 16 ii. United Kingdom 30. 00
13. New Zealand 22. 56 12. United States 200. 00
14. Pakistan 32. 00
15. Philippines 35. 00 Total 350. 00
16. Republic of Vietnam 13. 00
17. Singapore 5. 00 Total 965. 00
18. Thailand 20. 00
19. Western Samo& . 06
Total 615.00
C. BORROWING BY THE BANK
The Bank's subscribed funds may be supplemented by Bank
borrowing in member countries or elsewhere against the backing of
the callable capital. No borrowing may take place in the territory of a
member or in the currency of a member, however, without the prior
approval of that member. The Bank may also add to its lendable re-
sources by selling portions of loans from its portfolio, with or without
a written guarantee providing again that the prior approval of the
member in whose territory the loans are sold is obtained. It is not
expected that the Bank will be in a position in the early years to
obtain funds in significant amounts from private capital markets.
Accordingly, the Bank will rely for its early period of ordinary opera-
tions on its subscribed capital. When the Bank does commence
borrowing, the Articles require it to follow the principle of spreading
its borrowing equitably among the various financial markets, thus~
avoiding undue concentration on any one financial center.
D. VOTING
As in the other financial institutions of which the United States is
a member, a system of weighted voting is in effect in the Asian
Development Bank, that is, voting strength varies according to the
size of the country's subscription. On the basis of present subscriptions,
the United States exercises 17.23 percent of the vote, both in the
Board of Governors (which consists of a Governor-usually the
Secretary of the Treasury, Minister of Finance, or Central Bank
Governor-for each member country) and in the Board of Directors,,
which exercises day-to-day supervision of the Bank's management..
There are at present 10 Directors, one from the United States, two
4
PAGENO="0019"
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PAGENO="0020"
16 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Convertible currencies used for ordinary loans would normally cover
only the foreign exchange costs of projects. The Bank may also provide
local cost financing by use of its local currency holdings, and oniy in
special cases may the Bank use convertible currency for a portion of
local costs involved. In addition to its direct loans for particular
projects, the Bank could lend to national development banks which
would sublend for smaller projects. No loan could be made in a country
if the ~overninent of the country objects. The guarantee of the govern-
ment is not required if the loan is not to the government itself. The
Bank may, however, if it deems it desirable, require such a guarantee.
The Bank must pay due regard to the ability of the borrower to find
financing elsewhere on reasonable terms before it approves a loan.
The Articles do not specify any particular types of development
projects for emphasis in the Bank's ordinary lending operations. Loans
may be extended for the usual infrastructure projects such as roads,
ports, power, and the like, for agricultural projects such as irrigation
systems and agricultural credit institutions, and for private enter-
prise activities in manufacturing and service industries. While specific
loan terms are not prescribed, the Bank is required in its first 5 years
of operation to charge a commission on its ordinary loans of 1 percent,
the proceeds of which must be held in a special liquid reserve to meet
possible future liabilities of the Bank. Such a special reserve was a
feature of the charters of both the World Bank and the Inter-American
Development Bank. The subscribed resources of the Bank may be
used only for procurement in Bank member countries or, in special
circumstances, in a country which permits the Bank to raise a signifi-
cant amount of capital in its markets.
F. AUTHORITY FOR ASIAN BANK ADMINISTRATION OF SPECIAL FUNDS
From the outset, the Asian Development Bank was designed as a
financial institution that would have at its disposal resources for both
ordinary operations and special operations. Articles 9 and 10 of the
Bank's Articles of Agreement draw the distinction between operations
with each of these types of resources and prescribe that the ordinary
capital resources and special fund resources "shall at all times and in
all respects be held, used, and committed, invested, or otherwise dis-
posed of entirely separate from each other." Article 19 of the Bank's
charter, after providing that the Board of Governors may by a special
vote set aside not more than 10 percent of the paid in capital of the
Bank for special funds purposes, states that the Bank may-
`~* * * (ii) accept the administration of special funds which are
designed to serve the purpose and come within the functions of the
Bank * * * [Such Funds] may be used in any manner and on any
terms and conditions not inconsistent with the purpose of the Bank
and with the agreement relating to such funds * * ~"
It was thus clearly the intention of the drafters of the Bank Articles
that the institution be endowed with all necessary powers to accept
and administer funds with which to carry on special financing op-
erations.
Administration spokesmen presenting the Asian Development Bank
bill to the Congress clearly outlined the great potential of the Bank's
special fund powers. In a special report accompanying the President's
6
PAGENO="0021"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 17
submission of legislation to the Congress in January 1966, Secretary
of the Treasury Henry H. Fowler said "The Bank could not only
provide needed new capital of its own but also made available to it
by developed countries on special terms and for special purposes, as
for example a portion of the President's Southeast Asian multilateral
program for economic and social development." No firm plans for
submission of a request for authority to participate in special funds
had been formulated at the time of the original submission of the
Asian Bank legislation, and Administration representatives made it
clear that such U.S. participation would have to be pursuant to new
authority granted by the Congress.
In his State of the Union message last January, President Johnson
announced his intention of seeking $200 million as a U.S. contribution
over a period of years to be administered by the Asian Development
Bank.
The Administration's preliminary views as to special funds and their
relationship to new regional programs in Asia were outlined to Con-
gressional committees in March and May by Mr. Black.
The balance of this report is devoted to an analysis of the objectives
and mechanisms involved in the proposal for which the President is
requesting a $200 million, 4-year authority from the Congress.
III. ANALYSIS OF THE PROPOSAL
A. THE PROPOSAL IN BRIEF
The proposal now being submitted to the Congress would provide
the basis for implementing those provisions of the Charter of the Asian
Development Bank that will enable it to engage in lending in support
of regional development proj ects and programs in Asia on the easier
financial terms such projects and programs require. From the U.S.
viewpoint, the proposal is to authorize $200 million for appropriation
over a 4-year period which would be used to contribute the U.S. share
of multilateral special funds under the Bank's administration. In
order to avoid any unfavorable impact on the U.S. balance of pay-
ments, our contribution would in fact take the form of U.S. goods and
services.
In order to assure a multilateral character to the fund and an
appropriate sharing of the burden, the United States would make
its contribution available only to the extent other advanced countries
contribute the majority of the resources for special funds so that our
contribution would constitute a minority of the total. These multi-
laterally shared funds would be used to finance high priority develop-
ment projects, primarily in Southeast Asia. In immediate prospect
are special funds for regional agricultural development, development
of the Mekong River Basin and a regional transportation and com-
munications program in Southeast Asia. Individual projects for which
multilateral financing could be arranged but which were outside the
scope of these three broad programs might also be handled as special
funds under Asian Bank's administration. Thus, use of some of the
funds under the Bank's administration in high-priority projects in
member states in other parts of the Asian region than Southeast Asia
7
PAGENO="0022"
18 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
would not be excluded The funds could, in addition, finance technical
assistance that would support the overall purposes for which special
funds are established
Existing programs of financial assistance to the countries of Asia,
both bilatei al and multilateral, are not explicitly aimed at furthering
the process of regional economic cooperation Asian Bank special
funds on the other hand, would be so designed, consistent with a
fundamental purpose of the charter of the Asian Bank itself The
limited proportion of the Bank's own capital available for lending on
terms appropriate for special funds is inadequate in relation to the
needs for financing of this type Early establishment of special funds
in the Asian Bank is intended to equip that Bank with the full range
of financial facilities necessary to meet the request for financing the
Bank will receive over the years ahead The Congress has already
recognized the importance of such a facility in association with hard
lending development institutions by its agreement to U S participa-
tion in the International Development Association and the Fund for
Special Operations of the Inter-American Development Bank
B SHARING OF CONTRIBUTIffNS
It is inherent in the natur e of special funds that the particular
projects and p1 ogi ams financed will be of different degi ees of interest
to different advanced countries which are contributing to special
funds This will be particularly ti ue of the sin'Lllei of the economically
ad\ anc~d countries, ~hose programs of development assistance may
be directed to a p'rrticular sectoi For `L particular program or project,
the exact list of contributor countries and the specific amounts they
are pi epar ed to put up cannot be known until international negotia-
tions have taken place arid a satisfactory financial plan is approved
by the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank
In the en cumstances of the newly established Asian Development
Bank, it appe'irs to the National Advisory Council that the 1)1 actical
appi oach ~w ould be the establishment of an ovei all limit on the share
the United States should take of financial contributions to special
funds as a whole In the noriral case, oui concein is that the aggTeg'rte
of the conti ibutions of the other developed countries should i epresent
a ie'isonab1e sharing of burdens, and not that there be a particular
disti ibution of the contributions among the other conti ibutors The
Council recognizes that in past proposals for U S participation in
fin'trcial institutions, a fully negotiated agreement, indicating specific
counti ies and the amount each would provide, was available at the
time of the approach to Congress by the Administration Although
such an approach is pi eferable when feasible, U S goals uid objectives
~ould be benefited by our being in a position, through the proposal
as no~ stiuctured, to respond in a timely manner to Asian initiatives
In the present situation in Asia, planning has already gone forward
in different forums for the initial obj ects of special funds financing
Some~ hat different clusters of advanced countries have indicated
their interest in the different programs Because of their differing
histories, these programs are likely to come to the point of financing
at different times In these circumstances, the Council endorses the
concept that an appropriate burden sharing should be achieved by
8
PAGENO="0023"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1068 19
establishment of the principle that U.S. contributions to these various
funds will on the average constitute a minority of the total contribu..
tions from all participating developed countries, measured over reason~
nble periods of time, say annually. This concept will permit the
Congress to be assured that U.S. funds will not be made available
unless an appropriate volume of funds from other countries is also
made available, without requiring in advance the specific distribution
of other country funds. It should be pointed out that it would not be
inconsistent with an overall U.S. minority position on the average,
for the U.S. contribution to a specific fund to be in excess of this
average, provided our share of other funds is correspondingly below
the average.
C. PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS TO BE FINANCED UNDER SPECIAL FUNDS
The programs to be financed out of special funds administered by
the Asian Development Bank will all share one important charater~.
istic with the Bank itself: they will all be Asian initiatives, emanating
from the cooperative judgments and pooled energies of the nations of
the region. U.S. funds would be offered to encourage and support those
initiatives that are soundly based and bear the endorsement of Asia's
own regional financial institution. In some cases, proposals for special
fund financing may be initiated within the Asian Bank, elaborated by
its staff and brought to fruition in consultation with representatives of
the developing and developed countries involved. In other cases, the
Asian Bank will build upon work already done in other forums of
Asian regional cooperation; for example, the Ministerial Conference
on Southeast Asia Economic Development and the United Nations..
sponsored Mekong Committee. The paragraphs that follow describe
the major uses now foreseen for the special funds toward which the
United States would contribute the $200 million currently being sought
from the Congress.
Special Agricultural Fund (SAF).-In one of their early major
decisions, the Directors of the Asian Development Bank in April 1967,
acknowledged the importance and urgency of agricultural development
in the region, and accepted in principle the idea of a Special Agricultural
Fund (SAF) under the administration of the ADB. The Management of
the Bank having recruited an international task force of distinguished
agricultural experts is now surveying the needs of the region. The task
force is expected to complete its report late this year and thereby to
provide the Bank with a sound basis for the operations of the Special
Agricultural Fund.
The Asian Bank's decision to undertake the establishment of a
Special Agricultural Fund was taken against the background of more
than a year of increasing concern and activity on the part of Asian
governments regarding stepped up production in the agricultural sec-S
tor. The Japanese Government played an especially active role by
convening, in April 1966, a ministerial meeting of Southeast Asian
countries devoted to economic and social development. This confer-
ence, in turn, voted to hold a special conference in Tokyo in December
1966 to study agricultural development, and from the latter confer-
ence emerged a resolution calling on the Asian Bank to establish and
administer a Special Agricultural Fund.
9
PAGENO="0024"
20 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
With the basic decision on establishment of a Special Agricultural
Fund taken and the work of the task force of agricultural experts get-
ting underway, the Asian Bank is now focusing on the preparation of
a detailed statement of the operating principles of the fund. The rec-
ommendations of the Management in this regard will take into account
the views of the United States and other governments and will be dis-
cussed by the Board of Directors of the Bank during the coming
months. Among the types of projects which may be expected to be
financed by the proposed Special Agricultural Fund are the following:
(a) Projects or programs for the improvement of agricultural
infrastructure such as those for irrigation and drainage, land im-
provement and reclamation;
(b) Projects or programs for the introduction or the improve-
ment of farmers organizations such as credit cooperatives and of
marketing facilities for agricultural products;
(c) Projects or programs related to manufacture of the ma-
terials directly necessary to stabilize or to increase agricultural.
production, or those related to simple processing of agricultural
products to improve their marketability;
(d) Proj ects or programs for research and extension or agri-
cultural techniques;
(e) Other projects or programs designed to achieve economic
and social progress in rural communities.
Financing provided under administration of the Asian Develop-
ment Bank for projects and programs of these and related types will
be of great importance in attacking the problem of the "food gap" in
east Asia, which by 1970 will be an acute problem. Indonesia, the
Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, and Vietnam do not now produce enough
rice to feed their populations. Exports of two of the region's principal
rice producers-Burma and Cambodia-declined markedly this year.
Increasing populations place additional pressures upon traditional
agricultural patterns and thus further widen the food gap. A Special
Agricultural Fund in the Asian Bank would permit financing of direct
efforts to reduce the food gap just described through loans and tech-.
nical assistance not available from the Bank's ordinary resources.
In view of the strong Japanese support for a Special Agricultural
Fund, it may be expected that-as in the Asian Bank's ordinary
capital-the Japanese would provide an important share of total
contributions. It is anticipated the U.S. share in this particular fund
will be no greater than that of Japan. A substantial portion of the
$200 million authority would be used for our contribution to a Special
Agricultural Fund under the Bank. A significant volume of contribu-
tions from other advanced countries would also be sought.
Me/cong Development Program.-In May 1967, the Executive Agent
of the Mekong Committee initiated preliminary discussions with the
President of the Asian Development Bank regarding the longer term
relationship between the Committee and the Bank and the possibility
of establishing a Mekong Development Fund under the Asian Develop-
ment Bank. (The Mekong Committee is a four-nation planning and
coordination body established in 1957 by Thailand, Laos, Cambodia,
and South Vietnam, under the auspices of the U.N. Economic Corn-
mission for Asia and the Far East [ECAFE].) Such a Fund would
provide resources for further feasibility surveys in the Lower Mekong
River Basin and, as priority projects are identified, for the capita]L
requirements of constructing such projects.
10
PAGENO="0025"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 21
The economic potential of the region that would be served by a
Mekong Special Fund in the Asian Bank is vast. The Mekong River
has a total length of 2,600 miles, longer than the Mississippi proper.
The Lower Mekong (below China) is 1,500 miles long. The drainage
area of the Lower Mekong is some 238,000 square miles (equal to the
area of California and New York State combined), with a population
of 30 million people.
In addition to the substantial benefits in terms of flood control and
navigation improvement, the potential capacity of proposed dams has
been estimated at 14 million kilowatts, and the irrigation potential
placed at 9 million acres. Development of the Mekong could make a
significant contribution to increased food production in Asia. Over the
last 10 years, some 27 nations have contributed about $40 million for
data gathering and studies necessary to determine the Mekong River's
characteristics as a basis for formulating an overall basin development
plan. The United States has provided approximately $13 million
toward this effort. Roughly $70 million has been provided or pledged
during the last decade for construction of projects within the Mekong
program, and again the United States has made available about $13
million of this.
The following types of activities would be expected to benefit from
special fund financing under the Asian Development Bank:
(a) Feasibility studies on potential main-stream damsites
(three such studies are now in progress; nine further ones remain to
be done).
(b) Feasibility studies on tributary damsites (11 such studies
have been completed and a further 23 remain to be done).
(c) Construction financing for dam projects that provide power,
irrigation, or both to the riparian states.
(d) Feasibility studies of bridge crossings (to date the main
channel of the Mekong has no bridges along its entire bank),
cargo handling and boatbuilding facilities, and improvement of
the navigation channel.
(e) An overall appraisal of the existing Mekong development
program by competent international experts in the field of river
basin and area development.
The operating relationship and division of responsibilities between
the Asian Development Bank and the Mekong Committee will
have to be worked out between those two bodies. The Council en-
Visions that their agreement might provide that the Asian Bank
would supply multilateral financial management and administration
of operational arrangements in connection with Mekong projects.
Such projects are expected to contribute significantly to implementa-
tion of a comprehensive development program in the Mekong Basin.
The Bank could examine, and if it found them acceptable, could
finance out of special funds major capital projects referred to it by
the Mekong Committee. For its part, the Mekong Committee could
provide the main forum in which the riparian countries discuss their
mutual development priorities and problems and regional plans for
coordinated economic development. Through the Mekong Committee,
the riparian countries could consider the international agreements
and policies that must guide the joint development and control of
the Mekong River water resources for navigation, irrigation, flood
control, and electric power generation and transmission. Th~ Bank
11
PAGENO="0026"
22 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
may at the same time be financing projects in the Mekong Basin
from its ordinary capital resources, based on applications submitted
`directly to it by the relevant governments.
Southeast Asia Regional Transportation and Communication Fund.-
Special funds of the Asian Bank could be used to support a compre-
hensive plan of transportation and communications development in
Southeast Asia. Implementation of such a plan would contribute
directly to regional economic integration and thereby support a basic
policy of the Asian Bank. Representatives of Southeast Asian coun-
~tries met earlier this month "to consider measures for improving
~coordination of transport and communications development and, more
specifically, to identify and prepare regional-type transport and
communications projects in a manner suitable for foreign assistance
and financing." This meeting, and a followup meeting at ministerial
level, are expected to endorse the idea of a special fund under the
Asian Development Bank to meet the financing needs of Southeast
Asian regional transportation and communications plans.
The Government of Malaysia is taking the initiative in developing
proposals for cooperation in these two fields. A planning group of
Asian officials has recently completed a tour of Southeast Asian
countries by way of preparing for the regional meetings. The group
has met with and discussed its plan with the President and officials of
the Asian Bank.
Financing needs in the transport sector include the cost of broad-
scale studies to identify priority regional transportation and com-
munications projects and the subsequent capital costs of projects
identified as suitable for financing. Among the types of projects that
might he financed from special funds are:
(a) Common port arrangements and upgrading of national
ports as a benefit to regional cooperation.
(b) Improved land transport facilities related to the Asian
highway.
(c) Improvement of air transport facilities.
(d) Improvement in the Southeast Asia communications net,
particularly for traffic between capitals of countries in the region.
(e) Improvement of coastal shipping facilities, particularly
those affecting regional commerce.
Special Funds for Other Purposes.-On a limited case-by-case basis
the ADB may propose, or be asked, to administer funds which do
not fall within the scope or terms of the three special funds described
above.
A variety of conditions might call for financial arrangements for
individual projects outside the particular funds created for Agriculture,
Mekong and Transportation/Communications, although, of course,
~stffl within the basic scope of the Bank's Articles of Agreement:
(a) Some potential donor(s) may be willing to contribute to
a particular project which for one reason or another has special
appeal to them, whereas they would not contribute to a general
fund.
(b) A project might not be within the terms of reference of
the then existing special funds.
(c) The terms required for some particular project may be
different from those allowed by agreements relating to the three
general funds.
12
PAGENO="0027"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 23
D. GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE OF SPECIAL FUNDS
The Bank's Management and Directors recognize that countries pre-
pared to contribute special funds may have particular areas of inter-
est to which they would wish to see their funds devoted. In the case
of the United States, the $200 million which is now being sought for
contributions to special funds relates back directly to President
Johnson's Johns Hopkins speech of April 1965, in which he pledged
that the United States would provide up to $1 billion to support eco-
nomic and social development' in Southeast Asia. An east Asian empha-
sis in the use of special funds was clearly set forth in the President's
State of the Union message in 1967. It is, therefore, the U.S. intention
that the $200 million now requested be used primarily for projects
and programs in Southeast Asia. This intention has in fact been
communicated to the Bank by U.S. representatives.
In connection with the Bank's approval in principh~ of its admin-
istration of a Special Agricultural Fund, the Bank's Directors agreed
that the fund would be available for agricultural development of all
developing member countries. They also recognized that the views
of donor countries as to any special emphasis should be taken
into account. Thus, the United States and other donor countries
would be assured that they could give emphasis to a particular geo-
graphic region (to Southeast Asia in the case of the United States-
and of Japan as well). It would not be the U.S. intention to exclude
use of U.S. funds for meeting high priority needs of nations elsewhere
in Asia.
E. REPRESENTATION OF INTERESTS OF CONTRIBUTING COUNTRIES
In considering the proper extent to which countries that contribute
to special funds should exercise a direct voice in the utilization of
those funds, the Council has conceived of special funds as additions
to the resources available to an international institution. Many of
the maj or advantages of multilateral administration of development
resources would not be realized if special funds were conceived of as
a collection of extensions of bilateral assistance programs for which
the international institution has only a bookkeeping responsibility.
Accordingly, the Council regards it as fundamental that the Manage-
ment of the Asian Development Bank is basically responsible for the
administration of special funds, including the selection of projects for
submission to the Directors for approval. Project implementation
following approval would also be a function of the Bank itself.
Thus, the main channel through which the United States would
exercise its influence in shaping Bank decisions regarding special funds
would be the U.S. representation on the Bank's Board of Governors
and Board of Directors, in which the principle of weighted voting
applies. In approving U.S. participation in the Asian Development
Bank in early 1966, the Congress gave its full endorsement to the
arrangements by which U.S. interests would be represented.
In addition to U.S. participation in Bank decisions on special funds
through normal voting procedures, we and the other contributing~
countries would be able to stipulate, at the time they initially agree to
provide the funds, the purposes for which the funds could be used and
the basis on which they would be made available. A special geographic
13
PAGENO="0028"
24 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
emphasis, such as that referred to in the preceding section, would be
an example of such a stipulation. The Bank could not, of course,
accept funds with stipulations so restrictive as to render impossible
their effective use or to vitiate the multilateral character of special
funds placed under the Bank's administration. Additional techniques,
including close consultation between representatives of contributing
countries and the Bank Management on a continuing basis, might be
desirable so that the Management could assure itself prior to recom.~
mending a project for Board action that the project in fact was sup-~
ported by a consensus of the countries contributing to the special
fund involved.
F. TERMS OF SPECIAL FUNDS ASSISTANCE
By definition, special funds are intended to be utilized for financing'
of projects and programs that are not appropriate for hard loan
financing out of the Bank's ordinary capital. All special funds financ-.
ing is expected to be in some degree concessional; that is, repayable on
less than normal banking terms.
The decision on the type or types of terms on which special funds
should be made available is one that rests with the Board of Directors.
of the Bank and will be taken when specific financing proposals are in
view. At this time, therefore, it is possible only to cite the general con-~
siderations that are expected to enter into the Board's decision. Long
maturity periods, extended periods of grace before repayment com-
mences, and low interest charges would be the normal means of reduc-
ing the servicing burden on special fund lending. Since special funds.
are intended to revolve, capital financing would not be extended on a.
grant basis. In making its judgment on the appropriate financial terms.
in a member country, the Bank can be expected to take into account.
the practice of other international lenders and available appraisals of
the country's financial situation by the International Monetary Fund.
The nature of the project or program involved and the country or
countries in which it is located would also be important factors in
determining the terms t.o be applied. Many of the potential borrowing
countries have extremely weak external payment positions and would
require very easy repayment terms, similar to those of IDA. Stronger'
countries might be able to service loans on terms approximating the.
intermediate concessional terms of AID.
Where projects involve a long-payment period, as in the case of
roads, dams, ports, and the like, or where the benefit of the project
is to be realized more in social than in economic and financial terms
there may be further grounds for easier loan terms based on the nature
of the project. The Board of the Bank will have to make judgments in
the light of the total information available on the country's external
position and on the rate of internal return on the project. In order for'
the Bank Management to insure that special funds are revolving funds
in foreign exchange, it would be necessary for all special fund lending t~
specify repayment in convertible currency.
The Council wishes to re-emphasize that special funds of the Asian
Bank are special with respect only to the regional purposes they support..
and the easier terms of repayment on which they are made available to
borrowers. In all other respects, special funds lending operations will
be carried out under the same rigorous project selection criteria and
14
PAGENO="0029"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 25
project implementation procedures as the Bank applies to its own
ordinary capital operations. The majority of the detailed terms and
conditions of particular loans, therefore, will be identical to ordinary
capital loans, including requirements for borrower performance, self-.
help, end use supervision of funds, and the like.
G. SPECIAL FUNDS AND THE U.S. BALANCE OF PAYMENTS
In all of its activities, the National Advisory Council is deeply
concerned with the effect of U.S. policies and programs on the U.S.
balance-of-payments situation. With respect to the present proposal,
the Council is able to state that there are no grounds for concern over
an adverse effect on our balance of payments. The Articles of Agree..
ment of the Bank permit contributing countries to make special fund
contributions available on any terms and conditions agreed to by the
Bank and not inconsistent with its purposes. This complete flexibility
with respect to special funds includes the right of a contributing coun-
try to tie the use of its contributions to procurement of its own goods
and services. The Management of the Bank is already aware that it is
the intention of the United States to make its contributions to special
funds available for capital financing and technical assistance only in
the form of U.S. goods and services. It is, further, the U.S. intention
that its contributions be used only for foreign exchange costs of the
projects or programs financed; that is, noi~e of the U.S. contribution
would be used to finance local costs. These costs would be met instead
by borrower contributions, use of local currency subscriptions to the
Bank by the country involved or by local funds from other sources.
It can fairly be assumed that the projects financed by special funds
would not have been undertaken in the absence of such financing, so
that there is a high degTee of assurance that the U.S. goods and serv-
ices financed out of our contribution are additional to normal U.S.
exports to Asian countries.
On the basis of these factors, the Council concludes that the oper-
ational use of U.S. contributions to Asian Bank special. funds will be
fully compatible with the balance-of-payments policies of the United
States.
H. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
It has already become apparent that the Management of the Asian
Development Bank attaches great importance to the Bank's role as a
provider of nonreimbursable technical assistance to member countries
(in addition to any technical assistance that may be provided on a loan
basis). The Bank foresees financial needs to cover the costs of feasibil-
ity studies that would identify projects for later capital financing, of
technical assistance in the preparation of project proposals that are
already at the financing stage and of technical assistance to regional
institutions engaged in training, research, and demonstration activities
in key economic sectors. Certain resources are already available to the
Bank for financing technical assistance. These include current net
earnings on ordinary operations and the use of up to 2 percent of its
paid-in capital during the first 5 years of its existance.
Net earnings available for financing technical assistance are likely
~to be very small in the immediate future, however, and there is doubt
~is to the desirability of the Bank's drawing down its capital for
15
PAGENO="0030"
26 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
expenditure on technical assistance, at least in its early years, since
the resulting impairment of the Bank's balance sheet position could
affect the Bank's ability to market its bonds at a somewhat later
period.
The Bank thus appears not to have the resources to finance a volume
of technical assistance commensurate with the demands likely to be
made on it. The Council therefore believes that a minor portion of
any special funds that are set up should be available for technical
assistance related to the purpose of that fund and that such use would
represent money well spent, either by increasing the efficiency of use
of the Bank's own capital or enhancing the effectiveness with which
resources already in the developing countries are used. U.S. funds pro-
vided for technical assistance purposes would be made available in the
form of U.S. goods and services, principally the cost of U.S. tech-
nicians and consulting firms. In general, present thinking is that 5
percent of amounts actually made available to special funds might
be used for technical assistance which would be nonreimbursable to
the Bank.
I. FORM AND TIMING OF U.S. CONTRIBUTIONS
As is now generally the case with U.S. financial participation in
international institutions, U.S. contributions to special funds of the
Asian Bank would be made in the form of letters of credit and not as
cash payments. These letters of credit would only be drawn on
at a later time when cash is required for project disbursements.
Only at that later time would the amount drawn appear as ex-
penditures from the U.S. budgetary standpoint. It should also be
pointed out that, even though appropriations had been obtained for
U.S. contribution to special funds, letters of credit would not be issued
to the Asian Bank in the absence of the necessary matching fiuids
from other contributing countries.
J. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS
In accordance with normal practice in the major international
financial institutions, the administrative costs incurred by the Bank
and attributable to special funds operations would be expected to be
met out of service charges on special fund loan operations. During the
early periods of special fund operations, an interim arrangement would
be required to permit free cash drawings by the Bank for admin-
istrative costs.
K. ADB SPECIAL FUNDS AND U.S. BILATERAL AID POLICY
The proposed U.S. contribution to special funds in the Asian Devel-
opment Bank has been examined by the National Advisory Council
with the major policy objectives and guidelines of the U.S. bilateral
aid program very much in mind. The Council regards the proposed
uses of the special fund as fully consistent with the meaning and spirit
16
PAGENO="0031"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 27
of the general provisions which the Congress has deemed it advisable
to apply to U.S. bilateral programs.
For example, should the "Hickenlooper Amendment" be invoked so
as to require a suspension of U.S. assistance to any Bank member
because of expropriations of private U.S. property without adequate
compensation, the Council would seek to have a parallel attitude
adopted in the Bank with regard to special funds dollar financing to
that country. In this connection, last August the Council approved a
formal action reaffirming the policy of the United States to instruct
its representatives in international financial institutions to oppose
assistance by any such international financial institution to any
country during a period when that country is ineligible for bilateral
assistance because of its expropriation, without adequate compen-
sation, of American-owned private property.
IV. LEGISLATIVE ACTION REQUIRED
During the hearings on the Asian Development Bank Act in early
1966, Administration spokesmen pledged that U.S. contributions to
Asian Bank special funds would not be made except puisuant to
furthei legislative authority from the Congress. Such authority is now
being sought.
In order for the United States to be in a position to make commit-
ments to other governments for participation in special funds, au-
thorizing legislation is necessary at this session of the Congress. Such
legislation is desirable at this time because the Asian Bank is a signifi-
cant vehicle for increased involvement by other developed countries
in Asian economic development. The Asian developed countries-
Japan, Australia, and New Zealand-provide a much higher share of'
assistance through the Asian Bank than they normally provide
through other channels. The European response to membership in the
Asian Bank was widespread and substantial. Special funds under the
Asian Development Bank's administration would take advantage of
this willingness on the part of both Asian and non-Asian developed
countries to enlarge their financial support of Asian development. In
particular, small developed countries are likely to find the special
funds channel a desirable one which is more economical and effective
than establishing bilateral country programs. Encouragement of a
greater degree of involvement of other donor countries in Asian
development was an important consideration in the original U.S.
support for the establishment of the Asian Bank. It remains a compel-
ling argument in favor of making maximum use of special funds to
achieve the same end.
A draft of legislation providing for U.S. contributions of up to $20&
million is being submitted. This draft is broad and flexible in form, in
order to deal with circumstances that are still evolving with respect to
special funds. The draft legislation would authorize appropriation of
the $200 million without fiscal year limitation. It would also provide
that funds would remain available until expended, as is normal in
our financial participation in international institutions where the
PAGENO="0032"
28 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
timing of payments and disbursements depend in part on the actions
of other governments. Once paid, U.S. contributions would remain
with the Asian Bank as revolvin~ funds, but the United States will
insist on the right of recovery of its proportionate share of the assets
of special funds should the operation of such funds be terminated. It
is an objective that the other countries also make their funds avail-
able on a similar revolving fund basis. It is expected that the author-
ized funds would be appropriated over a 4-year period. The actual
schedule on which appropriations will be requested, however, will
depend on the pace at which discussions now under way in Asia move
forward, and other contributors pledge their fair share. No budget
expenditures are contemplated in fiscal year 1968.
V. CONCLUSION
The National Advisory Council has carefully examined the pro-
posal that the United States make available $200 million for U.S.
participation in multilaterally shared special funds under administra-
tion of the Asian Development Bank. Such funds would support im-
portant new initiatives now being taken by the Asian countries them-
selves toward regional economic cooperation. U.S. interests in Asia
are served by all steps that promote peaceful development in that
region and that bring the nations there into closer and more harmo-
nious contact. Asian Development Bank special funds would, there-
fore, serve our interests and deserve our support. Being on a multi-
lateral basis, they further the principle that the burden of financin
development should be spread among the economically advance
countries. The availability of special funds to the Asian Bank will
enhance the stature of that institution as a broad-spectrum facility
capable of assisting in regional and national programs of development
now being pursued in Asia. The specific mechanisms for making U.S.
funds available have been closely examined and the Council is satis-
fled that the United States is fully protected from adverse balance-of-
payments consequences. In the light of all these considerations, the
Council strongly recommends the adoption of the necessary legisla-
tion to permit U.S. participation of $200 million in special funds
under the administration of the Asian Development Bank.
18
PAGENO="0033"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 29
ANNEX 1
SELECTED ECONOMIC INDICATORS OF LESS DEVELOPED MEMBERS OF ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
Imports Assistance from international
Popu- GNP per Gross Total from institutions (million) 4
lation capita 1 reserves imports United - -
(million) 1 (million) 2 (million)3 States IBRD IFC IDA
(million)
Afghanistan 15. 2 $85 $46 $63. 9 $15. 1 $3. 50
Cambodia 6. 0 120 (5) 103, 1 3. 1
Ceylon 11.0 130 43 309.8 11.8 $30.82
China 12.1 190 337 556.7 178.9 39.48
India 471.6 90 608 2,818.6 974.8 693.71 $5.58 13.20
Indonesia 103.1 70 (5) 597.4 45.6
Korea 27.6 120 245 449.7 182.3 13.99
Laos 2.3 60 (5) 29.9 9,3
Malaysia 7. 8 260 681 1, 332. 9 98. 4 133. 10 1. 28
Nepal 9.9 70 62 38.9 1.3
Pakistan 111.7 90 200 1,042.0 365.0 311.84 9.22 310.24
Philippines 31.3 140 194 895.1 311.7 99.39 .21
Singapore 1. 8 460 (5) (5) (5)
Thailand 29.7 110 924 731.3 141.0 151.90 .49
Vietnam 15.7 110 307 356.4 161.8
Western Samoa (6) (5) (5) (5) (5)
1 Source: World Bank Atlas of Per Capita Product and Population, September 1966.
2 At end of 1965.
Data for 1965. Source: IMF Direction of Trade, Annual 1961-65.
4 Source: Annual Reports 1965-66.
Comparable data not available.
6 Not available.
10
90-614 O-68-----3
PAGENO="0034"
ANNEX 2
00
OFFICIAL BILATERAL AID TO DEVELOPING MEMBERS OF ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK BY DEVELOPED MEMBERS OF ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, 19661
[Commitments and disbursements amounts in millions of dollarsj
Nether New United United United
Australia Austria Belgium Canada Denmark Germany Italy Japan lands Zealand 2 Norway Sweden Kingdom States Totals States ~
(percent) ~
Afghanistan:
a 0.11 0.03 0.33 2.87 0.27 0.71 19.90 24.22 82.2
b 44 03 33 16 41 0 10 0 02 1 63 27 37 31 00 50 60 61 3
Cambodia:
a 1.86 .12 5.04 .01 7.03 .1 ~
b 63 12 61 56 (3) 1 92
Ceylon:
a .90 3.76 11.55 11.55 10.00 11.12 13.06 61.94 21.1 ~
b 1.11 -.02 5.15 0.11 6.00 -.15 6.93 .17 (3) .27 6.58 5.00 31.15 16.1
0 China (Taiwan):
a (3) 79 34 16 42 29 35 46 90 62 6 (~
b (3) (3) 2 18 35 - 25 8 84 32 00 43 12 74 2 ~
India 4
a 13 14 6 38 1 20 105 87 4 43 50 45 17 30 46 99 8 18 112 7 91 122 62 771 38 1156 97 67 7
b 10 95 4 53 06 110 68 4 60 55 34 1 43 49 45 9 48 33 1 60 4 26 89 44 744 00 1 086 15 68 5
Indonesia:
a 1 96 13 42 9 41 51 38 52 50 2 82 48 62 167 24 29 1
b 1 07 -117 10 4 85 1 08 20 58 07 (3) 01 27 00 83 59 32 3 ~
Korea (South)
a 02 97 9 67 1 99 75 05 28 15 211 64 299 77 70 6 ~
b .27 .02 .05 .11 6.03 5.25 31.18 .05 .49 .38 .40 166.00 210.23 79.0 ~
Laos
a 1 22 21 27 2 70 4 90 54 77 64 07 85 5 00
b 1 29 20 4 85 2 53 01 4 89 55 00 68 77 80 0
Malaysia 0
a 5.02 1.56 .44 .37 4.31 6.17 17.87 34~5
b 2 32 11 4 08 77 112 33 38 4 85 (3) 13 15 6 00 33 11 18 1 -.~
Nepal:
a 56 01 67 12 33 6 48 8 17 79 3 ~
b 06 01 57 07 07 07 1 07 10 00 11 92 83 9 00
PAGENO="0035"
5.41 51.5~ 218.11 ~84.is 56.~
2. 96 24.04 198. 00 319. 47 62.0
.28 41.04 71.90 57.1 ~
.29 22. 00 55. 57 39.6 ~
.30 1.43
.43 1.79
.62 63.92 75.61 84. 5 ~
.62 21.00 49.82 42.2
26 701 32 708 04 99 1
.37 500.00 506.95 98.6
.02 .04
.02 .62
199 97 2 185 77 3 095 35 70 6 R
141 68 1 817 00 2 554 78 711
a
~J2
03
I.
:akistan:1
a
b
2 05
(3)
14
50
03
25 25
31 68
2 47
70
~9 16
35 62
4 48
30 00
21 32
2 76
2 91
02
.
4 48
Philippines
a
1 51
11
57
03
28 33
03
b
33
- 40
1 71
60
02
30 50
14
02
Singapore
a
.30
.78
.05
b
Thailand:
37
17
50
(3)
06
- 02
14
14
a
3.06
3.70
1.44
.03
2.81
.03
b
3 25
1 82
03
83
15
17 66
09
3 66
81
02
01
Vietnam (South)
a
40
141
445
20
b
Western Samoa
1 54
03
03
83
4 43
- 63
34
(3)
01
a
02
b
58
02
Total 1966 corn
mitments
28 23
12 07
1 70
142 26
7 37
138 13
87 10
262 19
10 94
5 91
13 71
Total 1966 dis
bursements
26 26
5 51
26
158 34
6 44
154 50
7 78
205 61
12 39
7 02
3 76
8 23
`a equals 1966 commitments b equals 1966 disbursements net of repayments (except New Including Indus Basin project.
~ ~ disbursement data for fiscal year ending Mar 31 1966 most aid to countries was via Source DAC 1967 Annual Aid Review
auspices of Colombo Plan; commitment data not available. Note: No comparable data for Finland available.
Under $5 000
PAGENO="0036"
32 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
ANNEX 3
ASIAN INITIATIVES TOWARD REGIONAL COOPERATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF
ASIAN SPECIAL FUNDS
A. Representatives of many Asian developing nations have expressed need
for Special Funds. Among these are the following:
1. Thailand
The Governor for Thailand, Dr. Sern Vinichayakul, when addressing the ADB
Inaugural Meeting, expressed his nation's appreciation:
"* * * for the U.S. Government's offer of Special Funds for development to be
entrusted to the Asian Development Bank for administration. We hope many
more offers from other developed countries will be forthcoming."
~. Korea
In the statement presented by the Korean Governor, Kim Hak-Yul, at the
Inaugural Meeting of the ADB, he suggested that the delegates should:
"* * * explore every available means of acquiring additional resources to
augment the funds other than the authorized capital of the Bank * * *
order to materialize the augmentation of the funds, the Special Funds should
have an important role. Since most of the member cou~ntries of the Bank are at
the developing stage and their need of capital is far exceeding their domestic
availability, it is regarded essential that the Bank functions as the channel of
capital flow from the developed countries to the developing countries. At this
juncture, I would like to ask the developed countries to make utmost contribution
to the Special Funds for use or administration by the Bank."
3. ECAFE
(a) U Nyun, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Com-
mission for Asia and the Far East, urged at the ADB Inaugural Meeting the
support of the advanced nations of the world for the Bank's Special Funds:
"As the problems of economic and social development facing the countries of'
the region are indeed formidable, varied and urgent, I take this opportunity to
make a strong appeal to the developed countries to contribute generously toward
the Bank's Special Funds to enable greater and urgent consideration to be given
to desirable projects calling for special implementation."
(b) As recorded in the Annual Report of the 23d Session of ECAFE held in
April 1967, in Tokyo: The Commission appealed to the developed countries to
augment the Bank's resources through the establishment of Special Funds. It
expressed warm appreciation for the intention of the Government of the United
States to contribute $200 million to Special Funds, on a matching basis, and the
initiative taken by the Government of Japan to contribute to a Special Fund for'
Agricultural Development.
The ECAFE report also notes a suggestion was made regarding the possiblity
of the establishment of a Special Fund for the Development of the Lower Mekong.
Basin. And the report noted that such a fund might assist the Mekong Coordinat-
ing Committee to find resources for the implementation of some of its projects in
both the preinvestment and construction categories.
B. In addition to expressing the need for special funds, Asians have taken the
initiative in many directions.
1. Economic
(a) The ADB itself, of coures, is an Asian initiative, having long been an ECAFE
proposal.-Eight months following its inauguration in December 1966, the Bank
is almost fully staffed and is now considering potential loan projects, performing.
basic studies and making preparations to administer a Special Fund for Agri-
culture.
(b) Japan takes lead in organizing ministerial conference for the Economic De-
velopment of Southeast Asia.-Eight countries met in Tokyo in April 1966, at the
invitation of the Government of Japan to explore prospects of increasing regional
cooperation in Southeast Asia. The meeting gave evidence of substantial interest
in increasing cooperation. The second conference in Manila, in April 1967, called
on developed coun~tries "to contribute on a substantial scale to an agriculture
fund," and "unanimously adopted the proposal to convene a meeting of senior'
officials from Southeast Asian countries in Kuala Lumpur to formulate regional
development programs for transportation an d communications." These annual
conferences provide a forum for intergovernmental review and endorsement of"
cooperative programs in Southeast Asia.
22
PAGENO="0037"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 33
(c) Japan sponsors proposal for Special Agricultural Fund.-Following the ini~~
tiative of Foreign Minister Miki of Japan, the ADB has agreed to administer a
Special Agriculture Fund and is now developing detail plans. Japan has announced
it will make a substantial contribution and has asked all developed members of
the Bank to contribute.
(d) SEA Ministers of Education Council and Secretariat (SEAMES) formed.-
Eugene Black met with the SEA Ministers of Education in November 1965 and
heard their expression of interest in cooperating on establishment of academic
"centers of excellence" to serve the region. He told them if they did develop sound
proposals for regional education projects that the United States would assist in
financing them. At a second ministerial meeting with Mr. Black a year later,
the Ministers endorsed some 10 project proposals and the United States promised
to seek AID funds for 50 percent of project costs up to $28 million.
(e) Malaysia proposes SEA Transportation/Communications Program.-Follow-
ing discussions with the Black mission in Malaysia in November 1966, the Malay-
sian Government publicly announced its intention to convene a regional meeting to
explore prospects for integrated transportation and communication development
in Southeast Asia. An Asian group has visited countries of the region in prepara-
tion for a planning meeting September 4-9.
(f) Mekong Development Fund proposed by Mekong Committee Staff.-President
Watanabe held discussions in May 1967, with the Mekong Committee's Executive
Agent on possibility of a Mekong Development Fund under ADB administration.
They considered a draft agreement between the ADB and the Mekong Committee.
Three of the four Mekong countries have endorsed such a proposal.
(g) Increased ECAFE interest in practical development problems in the region.-An
ECAFE Resolution in April 1967, underscored ECAFE's hopes and that of its
subsidiary bodies for programs which emphasized "action orientation and regional
cooperation." An Asian Industrial Development Council was created within
ECAFE; a port survey team was organized and highway transportation (Asian
Highway) is receiving special attention.
(h) Central banking and planning officers in Southeast Asia have initiated
regular consultations on common financial and economic problems in Southeast
Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines).
(i) Asian Productivity Organization has expanded its program.-The APO has
expanded its activities by undertaking for its 12-member countries a new small
business management and consultants course; the development of a production-
level personnel program; and an information and visual aids program.
(j) The Philippine Government is planning establishment of a regional coconut
research center.-A detailed proposal has been submitted to the United States and
to the United Nations.
(k) The Chinese Government is sponsoring establishment of an Asian vegetable
research center-Plans are well advanced and consultations have been held with
other Asian governments, the United States, Japan, and private foundations.
(1) The Chinese Government is hosting a regional conference on population growth.
~. New political-economic organizations
(a) ASPAC (Asian and Pacific Council) formed by nine Asian countries in Seoul
in June 1966.-In establishing ASPAC, the Ministerial representatives of Aus-
tralia, New Zealand, Republic of China, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, South
Vietnam, Malaysia, and Korea formally and publicly acknowledged the "pressing
necessity for more active and fruitful cooperation among participating countries
for mutual benefits of their peoples in economic, technical, social, and cultural
information fields."
(b) ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) formed by five SEA countries,
including Indonesia, in August 1967.-This organization was established at a
conference in Bangkok in August 1967, by the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Its announced aims are to accel-
erate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in the region
through joint endeavors; to promote regional peace and stability through the
rule of law and adherence to the U.N. charter; to help each other with training
and research in educational, technical, and administrative matters; to cooperate
in trade, agricultural, transportation, industrial, and communications matters;
to promote Southeast Asia studies; and to cooperate closely in all existing inter-
national and regional organizations.
23
PAGENO="0038"
34 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
ANNEX 4
COMPARISON OF U S PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCE INSTlTUTION~
IDolIar amounts in millionsl
1DB
IBRD IDA IFC (ordin ADB
ary
capital)
Total paid in subscriptions of all members $2 166 3 $99~ 7 $99 0 $850 0 $482 50
Total paid in subscriptions of developed country members 1580 1 751 3 811 328 78
U S paid in subscription 635 0 320 3 35 2 350 0 100 00
U S paid in subscription as percent of subscriptions of all mem
bers 29 3 32 1 35 6 41 2 20 7
U.S. paid-in subscription as percent of paid-in subscriptions of
developed country members 40. 2 42. 6 43. 4 30. 4
ANNEX 5
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COUNTRIES REPRESENTED
Helmuth Abramowski Federal Republic of Germany Austria, Belgium, Italy
Netherlands
Cornelio Balmaceda Philippines Pakistan
Byung Kyu Chun Republic of Korea, Republic of Vietnam Republic of Chma
Masaru Fukuda: Japan.
J. M. Garland: Australia.
Bian Tie Karmawan Indonesia, Ceylon, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal
Lim Task Choon Ma1ay~ia, Thailand, Ne~ Zealand, Singapore, Western
Samoa.
P V R Rao India
W K Wardroper Canada United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Norway,
Sweden
Bernard Zagorin United States of America
PRINCIPAL OFFICERS
Takeshi Watanabe, President.
C S Krishna Moorthi, Vice President
Douglas C Gunesekera, Secretary
Timothy B. Atkeson, General Counsel.
Howard Farrelly, Director, Operations Department
Koji Suzuki, Deputy Director.
Sam-Chung Hsieh, Director, Economic and Technical Assistance Department
George Rosen, Deputy Director
Ma~ao Fujioka, Director, Administration Department
Raymond B Lyon, Deputy Director
S M A Kazmi, Treasurer
P S Hariharan, Chief Information Officer
ANNEX 6
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK,
Manila, August 14, 1967
DEAR MR BLACK As you are aware I shall be going over to New York and
Washington in September ahead of my visit to Rio de Janeiro to attend the
World Bank/IMF annual session I am glad that I shall have an opportunity of
visiting with you and with your colleagues so that we could have fairly wide-.
ranging discussions on matters relevant to our mutual interests in the work of
this Bank In this context I have been reviewing in my mind certain aspects of
present efforts toward setting up special funds and I would like to share with
you, in advance of my coming, my thoughts on this subject
24
PAGENO="0039"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 35
As you know, article 19 of the Bank's charter authorizes the Bank to accept
the administration of special funds on terms and conditions not inconsistent with
the charter of the Bank. Tinder the charter, the portion of our ordinary capital,
that can be used for loans with longer maturities and lower interest rates than
those prevailing in normal banking operations is relatively small. We were gratified
that at the Bank's Board of Governors meeting in Tokyo last November there.
were many statements by representatives of Asian countries expressing the hope-
that developed members of the Bank would make available special funds to.
supplement the ordinary capital of the Bank. These statements reflect a recognized
need for such funds in amounts, which in my own professional experience and, I
am sure in yours, is substantial. In my address to the 23d session of the ECAFE I,
referred to this aspect, and I said at that time that we are determined to actively
solicit contributions to the special funds portion of the Bank's resources.
As you would recall, a Conference of Southeast Asian Ministers, with Japan
participating, recommended in December 1966 the establishment of a special
agricultural fund in this Bank. The joint communique issued by that Conference
stated: "The Conference agreed to call on the developed countries and the Asian
Development Bank to cooperate in setting up such a fund and to request the Asian
Development Bank to start immediately deliberation on various problems con-
cerning the establishment of the fund, giving due consideration to the views of
participating countries of this Conference as well as of other interested pai'ties."
We had extensive discussions at the Board of Directors about this subject and
arrived at a decision in principle that the Asian Development Bank should accept
the administration of special funds for the development of agriculture. I reflected
this decision in my address to the Southeast Asian Conference of Ministers held
in Manila in April 1967. That Conference endorsed the establishment of such a
fund and the entrustment of the fund to the Asian Development Bank; the state-
ments made at the Conference reflected the sense of urgency felt by member
governments as well as the expectation that the fund should become operative
as early as possible. Since then, the Bank has constituted a task force of* inter-
nationally recognized experts to survey the requirements of the developing
member countries of the Bank and to submit recommendations, inte.n alia on the
nature, scope, and methods of Bank action in the field of agriculture development
which would be supported by the fund. The work of this team will be guided and
reviewed by a consultative committee consisting of such distinguished experts as
Prof. T. W. Schultz, of the University of Chicago. We expect the report on this
survey to become available early in 1968; and, funds premitting, we would become
operative in a significant way in agricultural development soon thereafter.
Another direction which has evoked considerable interest in the Southeast
Asian region is joint consideration of development of transport and communica-
tions. As you would recall, the initiative came from Malaysia,, in a proposal by
that Government also at the April 1967, Manila Conference on Southeast Asian,
Development. A conference at officials' level is proposed to be held in September
in Kuala Lumpur, to be followed possibly by a Conference of Minis1~ers. of Trans-
port and Communications some time thereafter. In the meantime,, a panel of'
officials drawn from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore is preparing
for the September meeting. During the course of the panel's visits, to, various
countries they called on us here and said that the agenda for the September'
Conference would in all probability include consideration of how the Asian
Development Bank could assist in this field of activities. The panel mentioned,
the possibility of a recommendation emerging from the Conference that a regional
fund be organized. The question was posed to me whether th~ Asian, Develop-
ment Bank would be receptive to a request to take up both these items of work.
I replied that, if such a request were to be made, I would be happy to raise it with
the Board of Directors. In the meantime, the Bank has accepted the invitation of'
the Malaysian Government to participate as an observer at the E~uala L~impur*-
Conference.
You are aware of the work of the Mekong Coordinating Committee in planning.
the activities necessary to exploit successfully the potential of this great river.
While we have as yet no specific proposal before us from the Mekong Committee.
(consisting of the four riparian states), I have sufficient ground to believe that
there is clear recognition that this Bank may have a suita,bl,e- ioletQ.play as and,
when the circumstances make it appropriate.
25
PAGENO="0040"
36 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
In these and other directions, the recent months have seen a steady develop-
ment of thinking in terms of promoting mutual cooperation, on a regional or
subregional basis, among the different countries that are members of this Bank.
The emphasis which President Johnson, in his various pronouncements, has
rightly placed on regional economic activity as one of the chief methods of im-
proving conditions in this continent has been quite clearly a maj or factor in the
promotion of a regional approach to economic growth. Further encouragement
has been derived from the specific announcement, in his State of the Union
Message last January, of his intention to seek legislation that would authorize a
U.S. contribution of $200 million for the support of regional programs. We in
the Bank have been particularly interested, of course, in his suggestion that these
resources take the form of special funds assigned to the Asian Development Bank.
Such funds provided by contributing countries would be significant recognition
of our need, and our capacity, to respond to requests from our members to support
economic development in the region.
We greatly appreciate the understanding and support of the needs of this area
as revealed in these pronouncements of President Johnson. We are greatly heart-
ened by the efforts that are being made and no doubt will continue to be made
by Secretary Fowler and yourself to further the program indicated by President
Johnson. I am confident that other parts of the developed world would show,
even as they have done in their membership in this Bank, that their support
can also be counted upon in this regard.
I think you know how much we all value your personal interest and encourage-
ment in our work in this new venture. I look forward with great pleasure to seeing
you again shortly.
Sincerely,
TAKE5EI WATANABE.
26
PAGENO="0041"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 37
Mr. REuss. The Asian Development Bank was created in August
1966, and now includes membership from 32 countries, 19 of them
Asian, and 13, including ourselves, from outside the region.
This Asian Development Bank represents the first such institution
in which the United States participates which has been created by the
initiative of the countries in the region itself.
The proposal contained in H.R. 13217 calls for our participation in
the establishment of special funds of which the U.S. share would be
not in excess of $200 million, to be lent on concessional terms within
the region for such programs as agriculture, Mekong River develop-
ment, transportation and communications, and other priority areas
as may be determined subsequently.
This bill provides that the U.S. contribution to this special fund
shall represent a minority contribution compared to that made by the
other contributing countries in the aggregate and that the utilization
of our contribution shall be conducted in such a way that our balance-
of-payments situation is fully protected.
We will first hear from Mr. Black and then from the other members
of the panel.
STATEMENT OF HON. EUGENE R. BLACK, SPECIAL ADVISER TO
THE PRESIDLNT ON ASIAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOP-
MENT
Mr. BLACK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and distinguished members
of the committee.
It is an honor and a privilege to testify before this distinguished
committee in support of the President's request for an authorization
of $200 million for special funds to be administered by the Asian
Development Bank in support of regional programs in Asia.
In my remarks this morning on the President's request I would
like--
Mr. REUSS. Without objection, your entire statement will be
received and made a part of the record, and you may, therefore,
continue either to read it, elaborate on it, summarize, or proceed in
any way you like.
Mr. BLACK. In my remarks this morning on the President's request
I would like to discuss three major topics:
First, the purpose and programs which the U.S. contributions to
the Asian Bank under this authorization are envisaged to serve;
Second, the encouraging growth of regional cooperation in Asia
which these programs will sustain and accelerate; and
Third, the terms and conditions under which U.S. funds appro-
priated under this authorization would be made available.
PURPOSE OF $200 MILLION AUTHORITY
The legislation before this committee authorizes the contribution
of up to $200 million, which we expect to make available over a 4-
year period, to the Asian Development Bank for the U.S. share of
special funds in support of regional programs in Asia-in priority
areas such as agriculture, communications, and transport, and develop-
ment of the Mekong River Basin. Aside from these three fields, it is
envisaged that a part of these funds would also be available for multi-
PAGENO="0042"
38 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
laterally supported proj ects in certain other priority sectors which the
Bank might be asked to administer from time to time.
These funds would be loaned at more lenient repayment terms than
those applying to the Bank's ordinary lending operations.
The question is why should the United States support special fund
arrangements in the Asian Development Bank, I believe there are
strong and persuasive rea~ons for doing so.
First, the United States will be responding to Asian initiatives for
cooperation in vital areas of economic development. The Asian Bank-
itself a prime example of such initiative and of the principle of self-
help, as well as regional cooperation-has undertaken to set up a
multilateral special fund for agriculture development in Asia in
response to a proposal cosponsored by the countries of Southeast
Asia and Japan. Eight countries of Southeast Asia have been develop-
ing a regional program in the field of transportation and communica-
tions which the Asian Bank has agreed to assist. And consideration is
being given to suitable ways in which the Asian Development Bank
might assist in carrying out the plans of the Mekong Coordinating
Committee.
Second, U.S. participation in these programs will help bring about a
greater and wider participation on the part of the more advanced
countries in the economic development in Asia. Japan has announced
its intention to contribute $100 million in ADB specialfunds over sev-
eral years. We hope Japan will do even more, and we think they will.
The Netherlands has said it would contribute $1.1 million in 1968 as
its first contribution to the special agriculture fund. Canada has said
it very much favors special funds for the ADB and that it intends to
participate in appropriate proportion to its participation in the regular
capital of the Bank. Canada's share of the capital in the Bank is $25
million. Indications from some other countries have also been favor-
able. And the steps taken first by Japan in preparing its own legisla-
tion and now by the United States by way of the President's proposing
this legislation will do much in encouraging other countries to j oin in
this cooperative effort to provide additional resources to the Asian
Bank.
In other words, what I am saying is, if the U.S. Government ap-
proves this participation, I see no difficulty at all in getting other
countries to match this or more than match this.
Third, only through the availability of special funds will the Bank be
able to provide a substantial volume of financing on concessional
terms. The job of development can be assisted greatly by availability
of capital at different rates of interest which rates depending on the
nature of the project, some of which are slow payout but of high benefit,
or on the external payments position of the borrowing country.
Mr. REuss. May I interrupt you at this point. Do you later in
your presentation discuss the nature and extent of these concessional
terms?
Mr. BLACK. Yes, sir.
Mr. REuss. Thank you.
Mr. BLACK. The Bank in its regular lending operations must
remain a hard-money institution. rfo preserve the Bank's credit
standing its own subscribed funds must be lent on conventional
hard-loan terms-similar to those of the World Bank. Therefore,
certain projects, however worthwhile the purpose or sound the
PAGENO="0043"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1 9 6 8 39
economic justification, will be excluded from the Bank's normal
lending operations The Bank's ability to extend technical assistance
is likewise limited A small but important portion of these funds
would be used by the Bank to provide technical assistance on a
nonreimbursable basis
If carried forward vigorously these programs promise to contribute
significantly to the pace and quality of the development effort in
Asia While development is and must remain first of all a national
effort, nevertheless, in many fields Asians rightly believe that they
have much to learn from one another and should coordinate and pool
their efforts to deal with common problems and gain mutual benefits
If these reasons for U S support of special funds are persuasive,
it may still be asked why it is important to do so now I believe valid
reasons exist for prompt action The nations of Asia, indeed, of the
whole world, are looking to us now for assurance that our determina-
tion to defend freedom in Southeast Asia is matched by our deter-
mination to assist the cause of economic and social progress among
Asia's peoples President Johnson pledged us to this goal as long ago
as his April 1965 speech at Johns Hopkins University
Our leadeiship in helping establish these special funds will affect the
vision and daring with which our friends in Asia go about their task
as well as the readiness of other donor countries to join in these
efforts, it will also encourage this young but strong Asian Development
Bank to carry on its constructive role with greater certainty and
dispatch
Let me comment in some greater detail on the Asian progr'tms and
initiatives for which we are seeking special fund authority in the
Asian Bank
One of Asia's greatest needs is a stepped-up effort to modernize its
agriculture Many of the countries of Asia are losing the race of food
production and population Traditionally, Southeast Asia has been `t
rice surplus area Today, only Thailand has a substantial expoitable
surplus Burma's exports, once a very significant component of inter-
national rice trade, have been declining The other major countries in
Southeast Asia-the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia-all have
been h'iving rice deficits The food situation in Indones ia is nothing
less than desperate Thanks to wise investment of technical assistance
over past years and improved agriculture programs today, the Philip-
pines are making rapid strides in increasing its rice production
Nevertheless, the overall unsatisfactory growth of agricultural
production in Asia has adversely affected rural living standards,
resulting in new sources of social tension and unrest
The proposed agricultural development fund would emphasize
projects promising a quick payout in terms of h gher agricultural
output Special attention would be given to-
Rural infrastructure, such as small irrigation and drainage works,
land improvement and reclamation
Research in soil productivity and improvement of seeds, support
of extension work designed to make available improved methods of
cultivation,
Farmers' organizations such as credit cooperatives and marketing
facilities, and
Facilities for manufacture of materials directly necessary to sta-
bilize or increase agricultural production, or those related to simple
processing of agricultural products to improve their marketability
PAGENO="0044"
40 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
The Asian Bank has recruited a group of distinguished agricultural
experts to survey the needs of the region and to identify key problem
areas requiring attention and assistance. This team of experts spent
nearly half a year visiting many countries in Asia and developing
specific ideas which should provide a sound basis for the operations
of the Bank's special agricultural fund. The experts have already
completed their work; visits to the regional developing member
countries were undertaken before the end of last year; and the reports
of the experts have already been completed earlier this year.
The experts' report of the Asian agricultural survey conducted
by the ADB is just now being reviewed and discussed in Manila
by a consultative committee of international renown, among them
Prof. T. W. Schultz of the University of Chicago. From what I have
heard about the Bank's agricultural survey and its report, I am sure
that this activity of the Bank will make an important contribution
to development in this vital economic sector in Asia and to the Bank's
own efforts in this field especially through special funds.
Mr. RETJSS. Could we insert a copy of the experts' report of the
Asian agricultural survey in the record?
Mr. BLACK. As soon as it is printed, yes.
Mr. REuss. Do you have that, Mr. Zagorin?
Mr. ZAGORIN. It is not printed yet, but when it comes in we will
provide you with a copy.
Mr. REu5S. We would like it for our deliberations. We will settle
for a mimeographed copy.
Mr. ZAGORIN. During this stage of review by the Consultative
Committee, the summary report is still in draft form. That I can make
available.
Mr. REUSS. We would like the summary for this record. Also we
would like to have, for the permanent record, the final report and
recommendations.
Mr. BLACK. The report, when available, will be provided to the
committee for the permanent file.
(The summary report referred to, as presented by President
Watanabe to the Consultative Committee, follows:)
ADDRESS BY TAKESHI WATANABE, PRESIDENT, ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK TO
CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE ON ASIAN AGRICULTURAL SURVEY, FEBRUARY 26,
1968, MANILA
I would like this morning to renew the very cordial welcome which I extended
to you last July-an interval which has produced fourteen noteworthy volumes
on Asian agriculture.
When I last addressed this Committee, my remarks indicated my excitement
at the prospects of turning such a splendid array of expertise loose on the problems
impeding agricultural development in this region. This morning, I am excited by
the results-results which reflect the guidance of this Committee, translated into
more than seven months of productive spadework by an eminently qualified
Survey Team, ably led by Dr. Chung with the invaluable assistance of Dr. Hopper.
I would like to also express our gratitude to the Bank's member governments,
whose generous cooperation made this endeavor possible.
At our previous session, I observed that the Asian Agricultural Survey was
"the first operational step of the ADB in pursuit of its stated goal: to promote
economic growth in the region of Asia and the Far East". Since that time, the Bank
has not been idle. In January, we granted our first loan, of US$5 million, to the
Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand (IFCT). That same month, we con-
cluded a technical assistance mission to Indonesia, designed to assist that country
in the identification of measures aimed at improving its supply of essential food-
PAGENO="0045"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 41
stuffs. Most recently, the Bank has agreed to dispatch a similar mission to the
Agriculture and Fishery Development Corporation (AFDC) of Korea, to help
promote the increase in productivity and incomes of Korea's farmers and fisher-
men. Other projects for capital and technical assistance are also under considera-
tion.
During the course of your deliberations, I am certain you will want to address
yourselves to the Bank's efforts to mobilize additional resources which can be
used for concessional financing. The Board of Directors has progressed in the
consideration of a framework which would facilitate the acceptance and optimum
utilization of these vital resources. The material information presented by this
Survey, with such further comments as you may have, would be a key element
in impressing upon potential donors the importance of aiding agriculture without
overburdening the credit capacity of the developing countries.
The conclusion of the Agricultural Survey is especially timely for this Bank,
since it comes on the eve of the first Annual Meeting of the ADB's Board of
Governors, scheduled for April 4-6. This Meeting constitutes an opportune forum
for the Bank to set the tone for its future operations and the Survey will undoubt-
edly loom large in the demarcation of that role as it relates to agricultural
development.
When the rationale for this Survey was first outlined to you, I emphasized that
it was intended to be "action-oriented"; that is, "to assist the ADB in evolving
a va'id and up-to-date framework within which (by promoting agriculture) it can
make tangible contributions to the economic advancement of the developing
member countries."
Subsequently, this Committee propounded three specific objectives to guide
the Survey Team in their pursuit of this goal. The Team was directed first, to
identify investment opportunities for increasing the productive capacity of
agriculture in this region; second, to point up major economic, administrative,
social, and policy constraints which have functioned to depress the incentives to
adopt modern technology; and third, to highlight those types of investment oppor-
tunities which placed a premium on the incorporation of scientific technology.
In the Regional Report and General ~Summary before you, the Team made
certain assumptions regarding the role of the ADB, upon which it has based its
response to the terms of reference specified by this Committee. These assumptions
correspond closely, in my judgement, to the concept of the Bank as interpreted
by the Board of Directors and prosecuted by the management thus far.
There is, I think, distinct evidence that the Team has kept in mind the ADB's
presently available resources and has, within the scope of activity it deems neces-
sary for agricultural growth, brought out the magnitude of the effort required,
both financially and otherwise.
The Team's reports include a detailed analysis of the various individual disci-
plines which, taken together, foster agricultural* growth. I am sure you would
have comments on these, as well as on the Regional Report and General 1Summary.
The transformation called for in Asian agriculture is seen from these studies to
be many-faceted: scientific, organizational, administrative, educational, and
financial. While finance as such may be a major constraint, it would be incorrect to
suppose that sufficient capital is an end in itself. The reports point to other essen-
tial factors, such as the research efforts required to ensure the perpetual develop-
ment and refinement of modern agricultural inputs.
The greater number and variety of inputs resulting from adequate resource
allocation to research will make agricultural growth increasingly dependent upon
a multitude of industries. This type of close interrelationship between the two
sectors is one which we have underscored in our own policy formation. We would
hope that our capital and technical resources could be instrumental in some
manner in expanding the productive capacity of agriculture-related industries
in Asia.
Like other sectors in developing economies, sustained agricultural growth is
contingent upon the existence of at least an elementary level of infrastructure.
In this context, you will be interested to know that the Bank has recently agreed
to attempt the formulation of a framework for a regional transportation survey
of the Southeast Asian region. While a minimal system of transportation may be
all that is required to initiate and sustain the early stages of the growth process in
agriculture, the transportation network must be expanded and elaborated as
agriculture develops. Any suggestions which you may have in this regard would
be welcome.
I have not attempted this morning to deal with all the various aspects of the
Team's findings; rather, I have highlighted some of the points which struck me
PAGENO="0046"
42 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
On my first reading of the drafts You have had some time however brief to con
sider these documents in the light of your knowledge and experience The ADB
anxiously awaits your discussions and comments confident that they will prove
of relevance and import for this Bank
Before concluding I would like to commend the authors of the Survey report
on the lucid style of the text-an attribute which regrettably, does not accompany
all studies of this nature The uniquely forthright presentation of the Team 5
observations conforms to my belief that there is a need to strip away much of the
sugar coating which has traditionally encumbered many economic surveys The
problems and issues of the Development Decade as a whole can only be resolved
by a full and frank dialogue between technicians and administrators financiers
and developers statesmen and citizens The Team s reports are true to this
mandate.
While the Survey may at times appear stern in its criticism of some of the
methods traditionally employed to transform Asian agriculture, it is equally
resolute in stressing the promise for the future I feel it is appropriate in this regard
to quote one statement in the report there are now new opportunities for a vast
expansion of agricultural output which set the stage for an exciting and brilliant
future".
These opportunities, and the recommendations for the ADB's role in exploiting
them, as contained in the Team s and this Committee s final reports, will be made
available to the Bank's Board of Directors, and, through them, to the member
governments, sometime in mid-March. Copies will of course be forwarded to you.
For the time being, the Survey will be restricted to "official use" although, at a
later date, the Board of Directors may determine to make the Survey documents
public.
For your part, I am certain you will want to formally express your gratitude to
the Survey Team for the fund of information and observations which they have
produced.
On behalf of the ADB I would like to thank you in advance for opening a door
of knowledge to the Bank through the Asian Agricultural Survey which will, in
turn, open a broad new avenue toward progress for this region
Mr BLACK The next is transportation
Transportation is one of the basic requirements for economic
development This need is particularly great in Southeast Asia
Existing systems there, dating from the colonial period, were built
largely to carry export products to ports for shipment to metropolitan
markets Better internal transport systems are needed to give rural
areas access to urban centers and to create national markets in the
countries of Southeast Asia Better facilities are also needed for travel,
trade and communications between the countries of Southeast Asia
As the area develops, its trade with the United States and other
developed countries will expand
In recent years Asians have widely discussed the need for accelerated
investment in communications and transport facilities to eliminate a
maj or bottleneck to the region's development
Representatives of eight Southeast Asian countries met in Kuala
Lumpur in September 1967, to consider plans for coordination of
regional communications and transport development This conference
was also attended by representatives of Australia, Belgium, Canada,
Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and New Zealand
The conference proposed a special fund under the Asian Develop-
ment Bank to provide the financing for a Southeast Asian transport
and communications program It also proposed that a comprehensive
survey be undertaken of the region's transport requirements and
priority investment needs, and requested the Asian Development
Bank to undertake the survey In response, the Bank's Board of
Directors recently approved President Watanabe's recommendation
that the Bank immediately undertake the work of evolving the frame-
PAGENO="0047"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 43
work and terms of reference of the transport survey for Southeast
Asia. The objectives of this transport survey, to which AID plans to
provide financing through the Asian Development Bank prior to
establishment of special funds now being proposed, are as follows:
First, a comprehensive analysis of the prospects of development in
Southeast Asia;
Second, recommendations on an investment program, divided into
medium- and long-term phases, based on economic priorities of indi-
vidual projects; and
Third, recommendation on the policies and measures-including
fiscal policies and government regulations-which should be taken to
jnsure that the development of transport and communications in the
region best serve the economic and social development plans of
Southeast Asia.
The Southeast Asians are hopeful that the Asian Development
Bank will, together with the World Bank, become a source of conven-
tional and, as appropriate, concessional financial assistance.
MEKONG DEVELOPMENT
I have frequently spoken of the importance, even necessity, of this
ambitious long-term development program under the auspices of the
United Nations.
The importance of the Mekong development program is both
political and economic. The Lower Mekong Basin, an area twice
the size of Japan, has a population of some 30 million pepole, about
equal to that of Thailand or the Philippines. Parts of the basin are
among the least developed areas of Southeast Asia. Its agricultural
cycle is one of 6 months of floods followed by 6 months of drought.
Poor drainage and salt intrusions have reduced vast tracts of land to
extremely low yields.
There is a tremendous potential for development here. Despite
an expected doubling of population in less than 25 years, the basin
could become a substantial exporter of food. Irrigable land is esti-
mated at 9 million acres. Potential hydroelectric power capacity
could for years to come meet the bur geoning demand for electric
energy. And the benefits from flood control and navigation improve-
ment are considerable.
On the political side, coordinated development offers great op-
portunity for constructive cooperation among the four countries
whose territories extend into the basin. It is partly for this reason
that Secretary General U Thant has been keenly interested in this
program and its potential for bringing diverse peoples and ideologies
together for a constructive purpose. President Johnson shares this
enthusiasm. For my part I view development of the resources of this
great river basin as one of the great and exciting opportunities and
challenges of our time.
To date, the Mekong development program has been a truly
international effort. Since its inception under United Nations auspices
in 1957, the total of our contributions, including the contribution of
50 percent of the cost of the Nam Ngum Dam in Laos, comes to
$26 million. This compares with total contributions of roughly $113
million-including some $70 million in pledges for construction-
from the participating countries, foundations and international
agencies.
PAGENO="0048"
44 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
The first 10 years of this program inevitably were devoted in
considerable part to collection of data and feasibility studies. Little
was known about this remote region. The studies have identified
some 34 possible damsites on tributaries of the Mekong as meriting
detailed engineering study. There has also been extensive work on
the river's flow characteristics, the basin's soil conditions and topog-
raphy, possibilities for irrigation, the existence of mineral deposits,
and the educational and institutional needs for development of the
basin. In addition, there have been completed the first two tributary
dams in northeast Thailand, which now produce the only electric
power ever to flow from the Mekong. Detailed studies are in process
on three main stream dams.
I believe that the time has come to put the funding for this promising
program on a firmer basis, to assess the progress made during the
first 10 years, and to prepare a comprehensive and systematic develop-
ment plan. There is a need to examine the question of the long-term
relationship of the Mekong Coordinating Committee to the Asian
Development Bank. The committee's executive agent has held
exploratory discussions with the President of the Bank. We are
hopeful the Bank will work out arrangements with the Mekong
Committee under which the Bank will provide financial management
and administration of agreed proj ects.
This is, roughly, the status of the various programs which would be
eligible for support from the U.S. special fund contributions. All of
them are the result of Asian imagination and initiative. All of them
deal with priority needs of the area. They will undergo further changes
as the Asians refine their thinking. The role of the United States is to
offer sympathetic support and assistance as and when it is requested
by the Asians, in partnership with other developed countries.
While these are the areas of cooperation in which Asian thinking is
most advanced, there will no doubt be other proposals from the Asians
which will merit our support. For this reason, we believe the legis-
lation now before this committee, while placing emphasis on these
three sectors of development, should allow for the possibility of
contributing to projects which may fall outside the scope of these
programs.
DEVELOPING REGIONALISM IN ASIA
Before outlining, briefly, some of the specifics of the proposal
contemplated in the legislation now before you, I would like to place
what I have already said about Asian Bank special funds in a broader
context. I favor the proposal for such funds because I think the Asian
Bank is a sound institution; the proposed programs are sound; and
because these funds would support the historic trend toward Asian
regional cooperation. This is the most promising way I can see toward
peaceful progress in Asia.
President Johnson has called the growing interest in Asia in regional
cooperation one of the truly constructive developments of our time.
Under Asian leadership, programs designed to promote peaceful
reform and development are moving forward more rapidly than many
would have imagined 2 or 3 years ago. Asians are coming to know each
other better; they meet more frequently to consult on common
problems. They are increasingly conscious of the benefits of closer
economic, social and political cooperation.
PAGENO="0049"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 45
This developing regionalism will, if it continues to grow, make an
important contribution to the cause of peace and social progress in
Asia by-
Bridging over age-old rivalries and divisions among the peoples
of Asia;
Accelerating social and economic progress;
Committing the leaders of the Asian nations even more strongly
to the cause of development as their principal national objective;
Creating a sense of increased self-confidence and solidarity
among the nations of free Asia; and
Helping to build a community of more independent and eco-
nomically viable nations capable of meeting the aspirations of
their peoples and less susceptible to destructive Communist
aggression and ideology.
Support of these encouraging trends is in the national interest of
the United States. The growth of regional cooperation in East Asia
complements our effort to make Communist aggression unprofitable
in Vietnam. The United States is on record as willing to support these
Asian initiatives.
Indeed, Asian progress in regional cooperation over the last 2 years
has been impressive. I would like to briefly note some of the high points
of the progress achieved to date.
First, as I have already noted, there is now the Asian Development
Bank, a landmark in Asian cooperation. Its membership includes
virtually all the non-Communist developing countries in Asia, from
Afghanistan to Korea. It has received broad support, not only from
the affluent countries in the region-Australia, Japan, and New
Zealand-but also from 11 Western European nations as well as Can-
ada and the United States. The most recent addition to this multi-
lateral group was Switzerland which joined the Bank at the end of
last year.
Second, a whole series of initiatives among the Asian nations serves
to dramatize their new interest in regional development. Japan has
exercised constructive leadership in this process. In the spring of 1966,
a conference of nine Southeast Asian governments convened in Tokyo
to consider problems of Southeast Asia's development. The same
countries met again in Manila last year and will meet again in Singa-
pore in April. In December 1966 an Asian Agricultural Conference
was convened in Tokyo. The proposal for an Asian agricultural fund
under the administration of the Asian Development Bank was orig-
inally put forward at that conference.
On the political side, a significant recent development was formation
of the Asian and Pacific Council-ASPAC-a consultative ministerial
level organization, which has now had several meetings to discuss
common social, cultural, and political problems. In August 1967 five
countries of Southeast Asia-Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philip-
pines, and Indonesia-formed the Association of Southeast Asia
Nations-ASEAN. In recent months distinguished leaders of some of
these countries have visited the others and further strengthened the
unity which has been forged among them in ASEAN.
In the economic and social field, the Southeast Asian Ministers of
Education have constituted themselves as a ministerial council to
promote educational activities on a regional basis. I met with the
90-614 O-68----4
PAGENO="0050"
46 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Education Ministers for their first two meetings-in Bangkok and
Manila. They met again last month in Singapore and signed a charter
for their organization, selected a permanent Director, and agreed on
a headquarters site. rrhey heard detailed reports of progress on the
first six regional projects and endorsed their implementation.
This program is most encouraging evidence that the countries of
Southeast Asia do wish to cooperate on development programs, and
can reconcile differences and submerge their strong nationalistic feel-
ings in a common undertaking. We plan to support this effort from
AID funds.
And as I mentioned earlier, Malaysia hosted a conference of repre-
sentatives of eight Southeast Asian countries in September to examine
regional communications and transportation needs of the area and
consider coordinated development plans.
The region's central bankers and planners are now meeting regularly
to consider common economic, financial, and development policies.
Third, there is the continuing role, and growing involvement, of
other international agencies. The World Bank and its affiliates have
stepped up their capital assistance to the area. The World Bank is ad-
ministering the funds for the construction of the Nam Ngum Dam in
Laos. It chairs consultative groups of donor nations for Thailand,
Malaysia, and Korea. And the World Bank, in close cooperation with
the IMF, is helping Indonesia determine its priority needs. In that
connection may I add that the Asian Development Bank made its own
contribution with a technical mission, already completed, to advise the
Government of Indonesia on production and marketing of foodstuffs.
The Mekong Committee is pursuing work, on comprehensive develop-
ment plans for the Mekong Basin.
Fourth, there is a slowly increasing involvement of Western Euro-
pean donor countries in Southeast Asia, both bilateral and through
the IBRD's consultative groups, and more recently through the
Asian Development Bank. Some 27 countries are contributing to the
work of the Mekong development program. Nine countries have
contributed to the Nam Ngum Dam in Laos. The Dutch Govern-
ment is the chairman of a group of donors in support of Indonesia's
stabilization program. Thirty-six countries, including Western European,
have contributed economic assistance and war relief to South Vietnam.
Lastly, there is reason to feel encouraged about the long-range
development prospects in most of East Asia. Thailand, Malaysia,
Singapore, the Republic of China, and Korea are examples of what
can be accomplished under sound economic policies in East Asia.
There is a new sense of confidence in the area to which our stand in
Vietnam has contributed significantly. And while per capita income
in most countries is still low, East Asia, overall, enjoys a favorable
balance of resources to population offering great promise under sound
management.
U.S. CONTRIBUTIONS
Let me now outline briefly the major terms and conditions on which
we would expect to make our funds available to the Asian Bank. The
favorable report on this legislation by the National Advisory Council
also deals with these points in detail.
As to our share of the total funds to be provided, we envisage that
other developed countries would contribute a majority of the total.
PAGENO="0051"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 47
Our share of some special fund undertakings might be higher or lower
than the overall target.
We expect to utilize the contributions to special funds authorized
under this legislation primarily for the priority needs of countries of
Southeast Asia. This would not exclude some use of U. S. and other
funds for priority projects outside Southeast Asia.
As in our participation in other international financial institutions,
we would make our funds available to the Asian Bank under letters
of credit, which would be cashed at a later date when needed for
disbursement. Funds would remain with the Asian Bank on a revolving
basis, and we would retain our residual rights to the resources if the
special funds were ever terminated. As usual, our funds are being
requested on a no-year appropriation basis, with the money to remain
available until expended. However, we expect to contribute approxi-
mately $50 million a year for 4 years.
This proposed authorization will not involve any budget expendi-
tures in fiscal year 1968.
We expect the Asian Bank management, under the supervision of
its Board of Directors on which we are represented by Mr. Zagorin
here, to be responsible for administration of these funds and the
detailed program judgments involved. At the same time, we will be in
a position to make stipulations regarding use of our funds when
given, and it could be understood that projects would only be proposed
for approval by the Board of Directors if there were appropriate
consultations with the countries contributing to the special funds.
The nature of the projects to be financed will require that special
funds be made available on concessional terms. Exactly what these
terms would be might vary depending on the country and type of
facility involved, and the Bank will have to decide particular cases.
The range, however, might be from IDA-like terms to the middle
range concessional terms~ employed by AID. No capital financing
would be on a grant basis. Limited funds would, however, be avail-
able for technical assistance on a grant basis.
Finally, I want to give firm assurance to the committee that the
financing we provide for proj ects and technical assistance through
our contribution to special funds will take the form of U.S. goods
and services. Such tying of our contribution is necessary in the light
of our present balance-of-payments problem. We will not finance the
local currency costs of projects.
This concludes my remarks on the legislation before this com-
mittee. We are confronting here a great opportunity, even while the
fighting continues in Vietnam, to encourage and support important
constructive developments leading toward greater opportunity and
more rapid progress of the peoples of free Asia. U.S. support is re-
quired for these opportunities to be realized.
Mr. Chairman, I urge approval by your committee of this
legislation.
Thank you.
Mr. REuss. Thank you very much.
Secretary Barr?
Mr. BARR. I have no prepared statement. I am here to answer any
questions that the committee may have on the entire range of proposals
that the administration will be submitting this year.
PAGENO="0052"
48 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Mr. REUSS. I take it the Treasury concurs in Mr. Black's-
Mr. BARR. Most heartily.
Mr. REUSS (continuing). Enthusiastic endorsement of this legis-
lation.
Mr. BARR. Yes, indeed.
Mr. REUSS. Mr. Black, I notice that in your report reference is
made to the fact that the U.S. bilateral AID is now providing financing
through the Asian Development Bank for the transport survey of
Southeast Asia; is that correct, sir?
Mr. BLACK. That is correct.
Mr. REIJSS. That indicates that AID and the Asian Development
Bank encounter no particular difficulties in working out an arrange-
ment whereby the Asia Development Bank accepts AID funds and
administers them, does it not?
Mr. BLACK. That is correct.
Mr. Chairman, in supplying the funds for these surveys, or working
out plans for a program, AID and other countries have contributed
money for the use by the Bank in setting up these programs. It is
not just AID money.
Mr. REuss. One of the hopes entertained by the Congress in
helping set up institutions like the Asian Development Bank and the
Inter-American Development Bank was that, to the maximum
possible extent, we would move away from a bilateral aid approach
and instead channel American aid through these international institu-
tions. This desire, of course, is thought preferable because the inter-
national institutions can more readily impose conditions on the prudent
use of resources than can a bilateral institution; in addition, inter-
national institutions have the advantage of attracting capital from
other donor countries and thus either diminishing our burden or
helping the free world generally to do a more adequate job.
Mr. Barr, I notice in the Treasury report of the National Advisory
Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies which
has been placed in this hearing record, there is a table which indicates
the extent of our bilateral aid program to the developing members
of the Asian Development Bank. This indicates that, for the year
1966, despite the setting of the Asian Development Bank we continue
to seem to have AID missions and bilateral and programs in almost
every developing country, including Ceylon, Malaysia, the Philippines,
to mention just a few, which is a member of the Bank. Will you supply
for the record a similar table for each of the years 1956-67? In addi-
tion to this material I would like to have for these same years data
indicating the number of personnel of the U.S. AID mission in these
various countries and the budgetary cost of maintaining these AID
missions.
Also, will you provide for these countries the plans the U.S. Gov-
ernment has for phasing those AID missions down or out, and where
you do not have plans for phasing down or out, an explanation of
why you do not?
Mr. BARR. We will be delighted to supply that for the record, Mr.
Chairman.
PAGENO="0053"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 49
(The material referred to follows:)
OFFICIAL BILATERAL AID TO DEVELOPING MEMBERS OF THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT
BANK BY DEVELOPED MEMBERS OF ASIAN BANK
TABLES 1-8
1956 through 1959 figures are available only for the U.S. and not the other donors.
Statistics on the other donors begin in 1960 and are done on a calendar year basis.
These statistics are available from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) in Paris. Commitment figures of other donors, however,
are not available before 1965.
Switzerland is included in the 1960-64 tables but not in 1965-66 since we have
no figures on the Swiss program in those years.
1967 (calendar year) figures are not yet available for the other donors or for the
U.S. but will be in several months.
The following tables, therefore, give the best available figures that we have on
aid to the developing members of the Asian Development Bank by other members
of that Bank.
Aid includes flows from all official sources such as A.I.D., PL 480, Export-
Import Bank, etc., for the U.S.
PAGENO="0054"
50 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OP
1968
Lt)000)C~J 0)C~J
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PAGENO="0055"
TABLE 2 -OFFICIAL BILATERAL AID TO DEVELOPING MEMBERS OF ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK BY DEVELOPED MEMBERS 1 OF ASIAN BANK 1961
INet disbursements only 2 Dollar amounts in millionsl
Nether Switzer United United U S per 0
Austria Belgium Canada Denmark Germany Italy Japan lands Norway Sweden land Kingdom States Total cent of ~
total
Afghanistan $3 38 $0 17 $30 $33 55 89 4
C~mbodia $0 05 01 46 24 24 52 97 9
Ceylon 2 38 47 10 $0 04 9 11 99 75 1 ~
China (Taiwan) 02 119 119 02 100 0
India 21 31 $0 01 131 78 $2 45 23 23 $0 90 $0 02 $60 60 376 619 66 60 7
Indonesia 60 - 25 - 11 30 81 $25 90 53 109 95 48 2 ~
Korea (South) 51 01 50 50 228 229 52 99 3
Laos 02 01 13 51 5116 99 7
Malaysia 1 08 01 05 15 97 2 19 11 10 5
Nepal 01 05 19 10 10 25 97 6
Pakistan 13 44 5 33 17 29 11 37 222 252 60 87 9 ~
Philippines 04 09 38 8 54 01 10 19 06 52 5
Singapore 07 02 - 27 - 18 0 ~
Thailand 08 05 09 22 28 28 28 72 97 5
South Vietnam 24 01 05 15 46 (3) 151 166 76 90 5
West Samoa
Total 39 31 58 140 97 2 94 79 33 25 90 1 40 83 08 87 99 1 313 1 695 69 77 4
H
I Figures on Australia and New Zealand not available although they undoubtedly contributed some Commitments not available
aid to several of these countries 3 Less than 0006
ITJ
00
C,T~
I.
PAGENO="0056"
TABLE 3.-OFFICIAL BILATERAL AID TO DEVELOPING MEMBERS OF ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK BY DEVELOPED MEMBERS 1 OF ASIAN BANK, 1962
[Net disbursements only.2 Dollar amounts in millionsj
Nether- Switzer- United United U.S. per.
Austria Belgium Canada Denmark Germany Italy Japan lands Norway Sweden land Kingdom States Total cent of
total
Afghanistan $2.15 $0.11 $13 $15.26 85.2 ~
Cambodia $0.10 (3) 1.08 20 21.18 94.4
Ceylon 1.83 .71 .12 $0.04 $2.08 8 12.78 62.6
China(Taiwan) (3) .05 81 81.05 99~9 z
India 9.80 54.06 -$3.74 8.66 $0.89 .07 61.96 535 666.70 80.2
Indonesia .50 3.58 1.26 22.04 $37.00 .45 .11 88 152.94 57.5
Korea(South) $0.56 .28 .03 .36 .50 234 235.73 99.3 ~..
Laos (3) .62 .10 30 30.72 97.6 ~
Malaysia 1.01 .20 .01 .07 9.22 11 21.51 51.1 -~
Nepal .03 .29 8 8.32 96.1
Pakistan 9.48 19.73 1.37 .35 17.78 329 377.71 87.1 ~
Philippines .06 .24 -.10 7.02 .12 23 30.34 75.8 ~
Singapore .11 .05 .57 .73 0 ~
Thailand .11 .45 .10 3.20 .25 32 36.11 88.6 ~
SouthVietnam .28 .13 17.32 .05 158 175.78 89.9 ~
WestSamoa
Total 23.28 .56 81.53 -2.47 61.77 37.00 1.25 1.41 92.53 1,570 1,866.86 84.1
1 Figures on Australia and New Zealand are not available, although they both gave some aid to 2 No commitment figures available for 1962.
several of these countries. Less than 0.006. 0
PAGENO="0057"
TABLE 4.-OFFICIAL BILATERAL AID TO DEVELOPING MEMBERS OF ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK BY DEVELOPED MEMBERS' OF ASIAN BANK, 1963
[Net disbursements only; 2 dollar amounts in millionsi
0
Nether- Switzer- United United U.S. per-
Austria Belgium Canada Denmark Germany Italy Japan lands Norway Sweden land Kingdom States Total cent of
total
Afghanistan (3) $2.81 $0.07 (3) $32 $34.88 91.7
Cambodia $0.11 .06 .78 $0.06 20 21.01 95.2
Ceylon 1.86 2.56 .17 $0.08 2.04 4 10.71 37.34
China (Taiwan) $0.04 .78 .14 77 77.96 98.8
India -.31 25.13 44.46 $0.70 32.48 $0.88 1.65 $0.19 57.70 740 902.88 81.9
Indonesia .01 .45 7.56 .72 17.93 .49 .02 .15 77 104.33 73.8
Korea (South) 3.45 5.48 .54 .51 .01 .02 239 249.01 96.0 ~
Laos .09 (3) 1.97 1.14 31 34.20 90.6 ~
Malaysia 1.30 .16 .18 3.69 6 11.33 52.9
Nepal (2) .03 .26 1.39 14 15.88 89.3 ~
Pakistan -.02 20.22 42.01 11.32 1.53 .01 26.32 382 483.38 79.0 ~
Philippines .54 .10 2.17 -.10 10.75 .15 8 21.61 37.0 ~
Singapore .25 .09 .09 .43 0 ~
Thailand -.02 .11 1.16 .05 3.23 .05 .29 30 34.87 86.0 ~
South Vietnam (3) .29 2.71 7.07 .06 211 221.13 95.4
WestSamoa
Total .23 49.91 - 109.89 1.37 91.69 1.42 4.31 .49 93.10 1,871 2,223.41 84.1
1 Figures not available on Australia and New Zealand although they gave some aid to several of 2 Commitment figures not available.
these countries. 3 Less than $0006 million.
PAGENO="0058"
C)~C~JW CO~ ~ C)4 -~ 0)N- N.~ 0)0)
~
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54 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
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PAGENO="0059"
TABLE 6 -OFFICIAL BILATERAL 1 TO DEVELOPING MEMBERS OF THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK BY DEVELOPED MEMBERS OF THE ASIAN BANK 1965 (CALENDAR YEAR)
[Commitments and net disbursements; amounts in millions of dollarsj
Australia Austria Belgium Canada Denmark Germany Italy Japan Nether New Norway Sweden United United Total U S ~..
lands Zealand 2 Kingdom States percent C12
Afghanistan
Commitments 0 02 0 01 12 60 0 06 1 82 40 34 54 85 73 0
Disbursements...... 0.03 .02 .01 15.81 .06 0.10 0.01 0.15 1.51 33.47 51.17 65.4 ~
Cambodia
Commitments 1 53 01 53 2 07 25 6 ~
Disbursements 32 10 64 45 04 1 62 3 17 511 ~
Ceylon 0
Commitments 08 4 14 86 6 26 3 45 14 79 23 3 ~d
DIsbursements...... 1. 53 .08 4.84 2.41 .74 . 13 . 18 0. 01 .28 -.25 3.90 13.85 28. 1 ~
China (Taiwan)
Commitments 4 62 38 44 54 71 53 121 07 59 1
Disbursements 47 39 25 52 72 53 83 97 9 ~
India
Commitments 13 30 5 27 56 74 2 89 83 20 3 60 60 00 6 39 1 09 68 60 506 74 807 82 62 7 ~
Disbursements 9 56 4 26 27 15 20 44 50 - 59 53 23 13 89 35 1 37 6 17 65 36 857 37 1 082 82 79 2 ~s
Indonesia
Commitments 89 09 27 68 20 00 4 89 53 55 9 1 ~
Disbursements 1 54 33 08 15 13 5 52 21 52 12 03 -2 92 41 35 -7 1
Korea (South)
Commitments 05 15 10 3 07 50 30 49 205 65 274 66 74 9 C~
Disbursements 27 05 57 4 49 91 45 88 (3) 54 49 14 164 75 218 09 75 5 ~
Laos
Commitments 1 76 11 50 3 30 01 62 08 67 76 91 6
Disbursements 75 12 29 56 21 3 98 58 40 64 31 90 8
Malaysia
Commitments 1 99 5 07 3 70 98 4 77 16 51 28 9
Disbursements 2 65 22 1 82 1 03 24 44 11 08 3 58 21 06 17 0 ~
Nepal
Commitments 56 01 77 6 32 7 66 82 5 ~i
Disbursements 05 01 60 09 02 10 15 71 16 58 94 7 ~
Pakistan
Commitments 1 74 04 53 98 29 40 08 6 63 13 65 33 157 33 41 5 W
Disbursements 1 71 - 30 13 59 08 42 29 08 32 69 1 38 05 01 2 39 28 26 331 36 453 59 73 0
Philippines 0
Commitments 1 05 04 11 04 25 00 01 25 16 51 41 48 9
Disbursements 18 - 04 9 81 117 01 35 30 01 01 19 44 22 90 86 48 7 .-~
ingapore
Commitments 70 12 82 0 cs
Disbursements 60 50 06 07 12 91 01 2 27 4 ~
Thailand
Commitments 6 94 4 70 66 11 80 50 42 33 66 93 63 2
Disbursements 2 07 4 64 28 15 8 16 12 3 86 12 01 63 26 13 46 17 56 6
See footnotes at end of table p 56 01
PAGENO="0060"
TABLE 6.-OFFICIAL BILATERAL AID 1 TO DEVELOPING MEMBERS OF THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK BY DEVELOPED MEMBERS OF THE ASIAN BANK, 1965 (CALENDAR YEAR)-Con. C.ye
ICommitments and net disbursements; amounts in millions of dollarsj
Australia Austria Belgium Canada Denmark Germany Italy Japan Nether- New Norway Sweden United United Total U.S. ~.
lands Zealand 2 Kingdom States percent rj~
South Vietnam:
Commitments 2.08 0.52 0.09 0.16 407.26 410.11 99.3
Disbursements~ .84 .58 4.88 .14 -.68 .17 .23 300.10 306.26 98.0
West Samoa:
Commitments .01 .01 0
Disbursements .01 .01 0
Total 1965 com-
mitments.. 31.84 10.15 126.83 2.89 155.80 36.48 200.34 16.32 1.58 78.74 1,446.38 2,107.35 68.6
Total, 1965 net
disburse-
ments 22.10 9.21 58.95 1.00 141.29 7.38 193.69 15.27 1.80 1.95 9.48 112.21 1,890.42 2,465.39 76.7
1 Bilateral aid includes aid from all official sources (e.g., AID, Public Law 480, Eximbank, Peace Sources: All figures except those on New Zealand are taken from OECD/DAC documents (geo-
Corps, etc.) graphical distribution of financial flows to less-developed countries-1965) and various DAC
2 No commitments available on New Zealand. Disbursements are on a gross basis and cover the memorandums.
year ending Mar. 31, 1965.
2Less than $6,000.
PAGENO="0061"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 57
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PAGENO="0062"
58 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
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PAGENO="0063"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 59
A.I.D. ASSISTANCE TO DEVELOPING MEMBER COIJNTRIES OF THE ASIAN
DEVELOPMENT BANK
A.I.D.'s programs are designed to help less developed countries move toward
self-sustaining growth and combat economic and political instability.
Development is a long-term proposition requiring a considerable flow of re-
sources to the developing countries. While the Asian Development Bank will
contribute to the development of Asia, it does not have, and will not have at
least for some time to come, enough resources to do the whole job. Development
capital and technical assistance from a number of sources, including the ADB
and A.I.D., will therefore continue to be necessary for progress in Asia.
Furthermore, the United States, through A.I.D., is providing Supporting
Assistance to Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Korea. This assistance, which is not
loaned, but granted, is closely tied to U.S. security interests in that part of the
world and is not the kind of aid-in its terms, amount or purpose-which the
ADB was set up to provide. As long as it is needed, it will have to be provided
by the United States.
This does not mean that A.I.D. plans to provide assistance indefinitely to all
the countries which might receive loans from the ADB. In six of these countries,
over a third of the total, AID. has no program. One of the six is the Republic
of China (Taiwan), a notable development success story, where A.I.D. phased
out its program in 1965.
In Korea, the AID. program has been considerably reduced over the last
few years and we and the Koreans expect to continue this trend. A.I.D. has no
plans for terminating assistance in the other nine countries (Afghanistan, India,
Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) while
development or security needs remain as great as they are now. To the extent
Special Funds are available to the Asian Development Bank and are committed
to projects in a country where A.I.D. has a program, A.I.D. will, of course, take
this into account when determining its own program in that country.
Mr. RETJSS. Obviously what I am interested in is this: We seem
now to have an instrument for sensible multilateral aid, and while
the Congress has diminished the bilateral aid program. I see no
reason why we should continue to leave large missions in the countries.
As noted before AID and ADB seemed to have developed a mecha-
nism for ADB's administering portions of AID money.
Why not more? What is the hangup? Why do we maintain all of
these rather expensive AID missions?
Mr. Black, I believe both France and the Soviet Union participated
in the early discussions emanating from the United Nations Economic
Commission for Asia and the Far East, but when the roll was called
at Manila for membership neither of them joined; is that correct?
Mr. BLACK. That is correct. They were both invited to join and
they both declined to join.
The U.S. Government made it clear that they had no objection if
Russia joined the Bank, but Russia decided not to join the Bank,
nor did France.
Mr. RETISS. Speaking purely for myself, I wish they both had.
They both are needed, not only for their financial resources, but also
for their intellectual contributions.
Now, in this legislation we have what I think is a very desirable
second round to set up concessional special funds.
Have France and the Soviet Union been invited to pony up for those
special funds?
Mr. ELACK. You mean this particular-
Mr. RETJSS. This $200 million special fund we are talking about.
Mr. BLACK. I think they will be invited. Whether they will partici-
pate or not, I don't know.
I think that it is quite possible that over the next few years France
will contribute money to some special projects in this area.
PAGENO="0064"
60 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
As a matter of fact, France did contribute some money to the dam
being built in Laos. They were one of the nine countries besides the
United States that made a contribution. So T think it is quite possible
that over the next period of years that those countries may contribute
either to these special funds or some specific projects in that area.
Mr. REuss. Again speaking purely for myself, I think it is highly
important that the Asian Development Bank formally invite France
and the Soviet Union to contribute to the special fund.
I wouldn't like it be said a few years from now by France and the
Soviet Union, "Oh, had we known you were in need of funds we would
have been delighted to contribute."
Mr. BLACK. We will certainly convey that to the Bank and I see
no reason why they should not do that. I think they should.
Mr. REuss. Would it not be useful either in the legislation or
legislative history, if my colleagues feel as I do, that we inserted some
directive to the U.S. Director, Mr. Zagorin, to use whatever good
offices and voting power he may have on the Asian Development Bank
Board to make sure that France and the Soviet Union and any other
countries similarly situated know that the welcome mat is out, the
light is burning in the window, and we would welcome their contri~
butions?
Mr. BLACK. I see no reason not to. I think this is a good idea.
Mr. REuss. Mr. Widnall.
Mr. WIDNALL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Black, it is a fine day when you appear before this committee.
We have enjoyed your friendship and our association over a period of
years. The same with our former colleague Joe Barr, and it is good to
see you, Mr. Zagorin.
I would like to read from page 8 of the special report of the National
Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies,
House Document No. 166, under "B. Sharing of Contributions."
It says:
In the circumstances of the newly established Asian Development Bank, it
appears to the National Advisory Council that the practical approach would be
the establishment of an overall limit on the share the United States should take
of financial contributions to special funds as a whole. In the normal case, our
concern is that the aggregate of the contributions of the other developed countries
should present a reasonable sharing of burdens, and not that there be a particular
distribution of the contributions among the other contributors. The Council
recognizes that in past proposals for U.S. participation in financial institutions,
a fully negotiated agreement, indicating specific countries and the amount each
would provide, was available at the time of the approach to Congress by the
administration. Although such an approach is preferable when feasible, U.S.
goals and objectives would be benefited by our being in a position, through the
proposal as now structured, to respond in a timely manner to Asian initiatives.
My question is this: Does this mean that the Congress will have no
idea of the total contributions to the Bank soft-loan window by other
nations?
Mr. BLACK. The proposal is that the U.S. share would be less than
half of the fund.
We are asking for $200 million. This would be less than half of a
fund of more than $400 million.
Now, if the other countries don't contribute that, our share would
be reduced.
In other words, if the total amount is $300 million, our share would
be in the neighborhood of $150 million.
PAGENO="0065"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 61
So I think to answer your question, that if Oongress approves this
$200 million, we will be able to get other countries to contribute an
oqual amount or slightly more than that.
As a matter of fact, $100 million is already promised from Japan
eut of the other $200 million we need.
Mr. WIDNALL. But, Mr. Black, couldn't it be true that the United
States could contribute up to 75 percent of the Mekong River project?
Mr. BLACK. Of the Mekong River project?
Mr. WIDNALL. Yes.
Mr. BLACK. Well, I think it depends on what you mean by the
Mekong River project.
There are going to be a number of projects on the Mekong River.
To illustrate, about 34 tributary dams have been recommended for
the Mekong River.
Now, it may be that some of our friends might contribute more
than half to a specific project, but the overall would still be we would
not put up more than half of the money in special funds.
Mr. WIDNALL. This is what I am getting at, in the case of the
Mekong River, in the overall project, as I understand it, we could
contribute up to 75 percent of that entire development.
Mr. BLACK. Well, the entire development of Mekong River?
Mr. WIDNALL. The initial project.
Mr. BLACK. Well, it could be that a dam or a powerplant would be
ready to be financed and that might mean $25 or $30 million. We
might put up 75 percent of that. But if the money we put up would
come out of our share of the total special funds, we wouldn't exceed
ha]f of those funds. It wouldn't necessarily be half of each particular
project, but it would be within the overall amount, you see.
Mr. WIDNALL. I just wanted to have that clear for the record.
Mr. BLACK. That is right.
When you talk about Mekong proj ects, this is a very important
thing because over the next 10 years or 15 years there are going to be
some of the biggest proj ects in the history of the world done on the
Mekong River and its tributaries.
There is one proj ect in particular in Thailand called the Pa Mong
proj ect which is being studied very extensively now as to the feasi-
bility with comparison to the economics of it as to atomic power and
thermal power.
These studies are taking place right now and when these studies
are completed, if they prove the economics of this, this one project
will cost $800 million. It will be one of the biggest power projects in
the world. It will be bigger than the Grand Coulee Dam or bigger
than the Aswan Dam.
So when you are talking about Mekong over the next 10 years,
you are talking about big money. But these projects won't be ready
for several years and this particular proj ect I am talking about would
probably take until 1980 to complete, if it is decided to go ahead
with it, and that money will come from various sources, the World
Bank, bilateral programs, or whatever it may be.
Mr. WIDNALL. I am bothered in my thinking about this, as to
what extent we can have peaceful development of the Mekong River
proceeding at a time when $35 billion per year is being spent for
leveling the cities and defoliation.
90-614 O-68----5
PAGENO="0066"
62 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Mr. BLACK. The answer is, you can't do anything in that nature
in South Vietnam when the war is going on. We are talking about
the future.
As a matter of fact, the project that I am talking about, this big
project would be entirely in Thailand and Laos.
Mr. WIDNALL. What about Cambodia and Laos?
Mr. BLACK. I think it would be difficult to do much in these
countries, although progress is being made on construction of a dam
in Laos and steps are being taken to proceed on a proj ect in Cambodia.
So I think it is possible to do something with those countries but,
of course, it is impossible to do anything today of that nature in
South Vietnam.
Mr. WIDNALL. It almost looks as if we will have to be dealing with
North Vietnam for Cambodia and Laos and they are not participants.
Mr. BLACK. I didn't understand the last question.
Mr. WIDNALL. I say it almost looks right now as though we would
have to be dealing with North Vietnam on behalf of Cambodia and
Laos. They are certainly moving in through there and taking over,
and it could create quite a problem down there.
Mr. BLACK. That is possible.
Mr. WIDNALL. And they are not part of the Asian Development
Bank.
Mr. BLACK. Laos is a member of the Asian Development Bank.
Cambodia is a member. And North Vietnam is not a member. But I
think if you have peace eventually, North Vietnam could become a
member.
Mr. WIDNALL. This I understand. But the realities right now
aren't very bright.
Mr. BLACK. Could I give you one set of figures which you might
want for the record, Mr. ChairmaD?
Talking again about the Mekong, in the last few years there has
been spent $113 million in the Mekong River and its tributaries; $39
million of that has been for the purpose of preinvestment investiga-
tions and plannings; and $73 million has been for building dams and
powerplants. There have been two built in northern Thailand and
one is being built in Laos. This is $113 million.
Now, we have put up $26 million of this, the United States has,
and the other countries have put up the rest of it, and the "other
countries" means 27 other countries have contributed to the money
spent so far in the Mekong River. And a lot of this, as I say, is spent
in making plans for projects that will take place over the next 10 or
15 years.
Mr. WIDNALL. Mr. Black, I ask you if it is not a fact that the
initiative for the early formation of the soft-loan window originated
more with the U.S. delegation at Bangkok in 1965 than with the
Asian delegates?
Mr. BLACK. I think there is a universal recognition of the need
for it. I do not believe the United States initiated it. Many countries
have recognized the need for it.
Mr. WIDNALL. I think I rather clearly recall at that time the
Asian delegates cautioning against an ambitious approach in the
early years of the Bank's operation.
Mr. BLACK. That is right, as far as the Bank's ordinary capital
funds were concerned.
PAGENO="0067"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1 9 6 8 63
Mr WIDNALL And they wanted the original operation to be on a
sounder basis, if possible
Mr BLACK That is correct But that is the ordinary capital in
the Bank
Mr WIDNALL Secretary Barr, it is claimed because of tied loans
and local proj ect costs being assumed by host countries that the
balance-of-payments impact in this bill would be minimal
Do you think that the extent an additional $200 million U S
contribution would add to our Federal budget deficit, that indirect
balance-of-payments considerations remain, in short, increased Federal
deficit are inflationary and inflation is a primary cause of fact in the
balance-of-payments deficit?
Mr BARR Mr Widnall, first of all let me speak to this question of
the indirect effect on balance of payments
As Mr Black has indicated to you, in this special fund for the Asian
Bank, we do not anticipate financing any local costs, so we will not
have that trouble, some issue of additionality or substitution of U S
dollars for the exchange that they might otherwise have spent So this
is out of the way in this institution
Now, the second portion of your question as to the inflationary im-
pact of a budgetary deficit, I think you will also see in Mr Black's
statement that there is no impact on the fiscal year 1968 budget and it
would be my best guess, the impact of 1969 would be small I would
think there might be, if you were going at a rate of $50 million a year,
I think on the expenditure basis I would doubt that more than $25
million would be expended, more might be committed, but no more than
$25 million spent
So for the 2 years, for the fiscal years that we are looking at at the
moment, I would think that the expenditure impact of this proposal
would be confined to an area of not more than $25 million in the next
18 months
Mr WIDNALL What you are trying to gain by this bill is the ability
over a period of 4 years to have an authorization of $50 million per
year?
Mr BARR That is correct, that is the authorization which the Bank
will use to make commitment
Its disbursements, as you know, would run considerably behind its
commitment
As I understand your question, you addressed to the inflationary
impact on the United States
Mr WIDNALL That is right
Mr BARR And I would give the committee my best judgment
that any inflationary impact, and by that I mean in addition to our
expenditure deficit, would be in the area of $25 million at most in the
next 18 months
Mr WIDNALL That is all, thank you
Mr REIJSS Mr Gonzalez
Mr GONZALEZ Mr Black, are any of the nations contributing to
the special funds earmarking their funds for any special proj ect?
M r BLACK I think the other countries that will contribute to this
fund may have the right to earmark their money for specific purposes
For e~amp1e, we will earmark our money, if this legislation is passed,
primarily for the use of Southeast Asian countries
PAGENO="0068"
64 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Now, there are a number of other countries in the Bank besides
Southeast Asian countries, but we are saying we want this used pri-
marily for the Southeast Asian countries.
Some of the other countries may come along and say they would
like to have theirs for some other specific area.
For example, the Japanese said they are interested primarily in
agriculture, and they were the originator of this conference on agri-
culture, and they may say they would like to have their money used
primarily for agriculture.
Mr. GONZALEZ. I had been aware of Japan doing that. I did not
know if that was advisable or inadvisable. And I just wondered if
we had, and I think, of course, that it is wise that we should want to
be concentrating in Southeast Asia.
I also am very gratified to see that there is hope and that the
creative and the hopeful are still with us and not the despairing and
the pessimistic.
I think it is a very good thing that you are proposing because it
is looking forward to the creative at a day and time when the destruc-
tive forces have been eliminated, particularly in Southeast Asia, and
it may help to militate against those who ascribe to the United States
nothing but the worst of motives.
So I compliment you on that.
The minority leader brought out this question of the balance of
payments and I noticed that both in the Advisory Committee's
report, as well as in the bill itself, this question is anticipated.
I think it will be one of the big issues if and when this bill gets on
the floor. And what I was going to ask is essentially this:
Other than the general phraseology in the bill itself, would you
consider it advisable to specify restrictions or narrow the conditions
under which this money could be utilized in order to avoid any im-
balance or adding to the imbalance?
Mr. BLACK. Well, if you are talking to me personally, I am not in
favor of tied loans. I have never been in favor of them and I spent
years and years in the World Bank trying to persuade other countries
not to tie any money.
On the other hand, I have to recognize the balance-of-payments
problem, and this has been set up to meet that problem.
But as far as my philosophy is concerned, I am against tied money.
Mr. GONZALEZ. And, of course, as the report and your statement
stated, these special funds are really being realistically advanced, in
view of the real conditions you have to meet, but in order to maintain
the reputation and the credit of the Bank, your regular funding will
still have to be hard?
Mr. BLACK. That is correct.
Mr. GONZALEZ. Well, thank you very much, and good luck as far as
one member is concerned. I am for you.
Mr. BLACK. Thank you, sir.
Mr. RETJSS. Before I recognize Mr. Stanton, on the point pursued
by Mr. Widnall and Mr. Gonzalez of the relative costs of the proposed
U.S. contribution to the special fund of the Asian Development Bank
and relative costs of our military activities in Southeast Asia, I think,
Mr. Barr, you testified that the expenditure impact for the next 18
months of this special fund aid program would be on the order of $25
million.
PAGENO="0069"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 65
Mr. BARR. Yes, sir; Mr. Chairman. This is my best guess.
Mr. REUSS. At the present rate of expenditure for the war in South
Vietnam of around $30 billion a year, at a rate of a year and a half, it
would be $45 billion; hastily calculating, I deduced a ratio of war-
making versus peacemaking of 1,200 warmaking, 1 peacemaking, and
my question is, Do you think that 1 against 1,200 is an outrageously
high ratio?
Mr. BARR. Mr. Chairman, the figures we use for Vietnam, of course,
are printed in the Bureau of the Budget document submitted to the
Congress in the President's budget statement. We print the figure
$25.8 billion for fiscal year 1969.
Mr. REUSS. If you care to amend my question, then, to a ratio of
900 to 1, I will accept it.
Mr. BARR. Mr. Chairman, may I say that I wholeheartedly concur
with the sentiments expressed by Mr. Gonzalez, that I deeply favor
this small amount of money. I wish it could be more. As a representa-
tion that this Nation is dedicated to peace and peaceful pursuit of the
economic development of this region, I know of no project in which
I have been engaged in my period of public service that has given
me more personal satisfaction than this Bank. Partly, I think, it is
because of a feeling that this is a way to show to the world that we
are not a nation of warriors bent on destruction; that our ultimate goal
is the peaceful development of these nations.
Mr. REUS5. Mr. Stanton.
Mr. STANTON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Gentlemen, I could not help but agree with Mr. Gonzalez in part
too, and I have the feeling the good luck that has been offered to you
probably came from people like myself who are a little skeptical.
I do not think anybody could argue with the objectives of having
a special fund, but I think you would have to disagree with the
approach.
Two years ago I enjoyed my experience in Japan in talking to Mr.
Watanabe about the Bank. It was a feeling of pride of the countries
in helping to develop Asia itself. I get the impression here we are
going to overwhelm these countries with our initiative. We are going
to be asked to put up the $200 million and really not know what
percentage the rest of the Bank is going to contribute.
You are asking us to put up 55 or 45 percent of the amount. Yet
we have one Director on that Bank. We have 17 percent of the voting
rights in that particular Bank.
Once again I wonder if we are taking the initiative away from the
Asian countries. I miss the point in some way. We have not heard
first from somebody from the Asian Development Bank stating that
the Board of Directors passed a resolution that this is a favorable
thing to do, to ask the different countries to contribute to a certain
percentage. I also worry and perhaps you could answer this question,
Mr. Black: Japan and the United States are equally in the hard
window. We say we will match the hard window of $200 million, and
Japan says they will go 50 percent. I read somewhere the Netherlands
is going to go one~tenth and Canada put up $25 million to the hard
window. They might put up a fraction of a couple of million in this.
Have you checked with all the countries involved? What has the
Bank been doing to promote this particular legislation?
PAGENO="0070"
66 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Mr BLACK Well, in the first place, we will know the exact propor-
tions that we put up of this special fund It won't be 55 or 75 percent
It will be less than 50 percent of whatever the fund is If the fund is
$400 million, our maximum figure would be $200 million
If it is less than that, it would be less than halt of what the fund is
So we will know exactly what the fund is
As far as other countries are concerned, there have been some dis-
cussions with other countries The Bank itself is very keen to have
this fund
I have a statement here by the President of the Bank which I think
might be put in the record This is a plea by the President of the Bank
for the special fund, and it is giving reasons for the need for these
special funds
As far as other countries are concerned, Japan has already agreed
to put up $100 million in this special fund we are talking about What
I said in my statement was that Canada has not made the specific
commitment but would probably put up the same amount that they
put up in the Bank
In other words, it would not be $2 5 million, it would probably be
$25 million
The Netherlands has put up $1,100,000 this year This may be
every year
Now, it has been very difficult for the Bank to go around and request
other people to put money up unless they know we are going to put
money up The minute we decide to do it, I can assure the members
of this committee we are not going to have trouble getting the rest of
the money
You cannot ask other people to put money up when you are not
sure you are going to do it yourself You have to be sure of it yourself
before you can ask them
I am not worried at all about getting their participation in this
fund, and there is no question of a percentage in this at all
We state here that we are going to put up less than 50 percent of
this special fund
Mr STANTON Mr Black, the thing that appeals to many of us
about the bill of the Inter-American Development Bank is that they
have met and passed a resolution They have come up with the re-
quests The United States, if it is going along may say yes The Bank
has said we will go through with this if so many different countries
agree with it It is a solid proposal You know exactly where you
stand All the other countries know and it is a type of operation that
I think has great appeal to the Members of Congress, whereas this
is a different approach
This is U S initiative on the surface to promote worthwhile objec-
tives On the other hand, I think it should come from the Bank itself
after due consideration and time
I have one other question Does the Bank, and I am very happy to
see the progre s the Bank is making, have within its charter the
ability of the Bank itself to change the charter to provide that a
certain amount of its funds could be changed to soft loans? Can the
Bank itself with its $965 million change its oii n charter to provide a
certain amount of capital for accomplishing the same purpose?
Mr BLACK Could I answer your inquiries? The first question, in
the case of the Latin American Bank, as I recall it, Congress approved
PAGENO="0071"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 67
$300 million a year for the next 3 years as a contribution to the special
funds of the Latin American Bank.
Now, that $300 million a year could be used for local currency
purposes. In that respect it is different from what I am talking about.
Mr. STANTON. That is the case over the objection of many of us
who were here on that particular bill.
Mr. .BLACK. I am not making any comment. I am saying there is
a difference.
Now, the second point is that you said that the countries contributed
their share. If you analyze what they contributed, it was local cur-
rency. They contributed local currency as their share of this fund,
while the United States contributed $900 million.
But whatever the amount was-I do not know what it was-what-
ever it was, it was in local currency and we are talking about con-
vertible hard money in this case. And the countries that put money up,
put up convertible money.
Now, when you talk about the members of the Bank, whether
they want this or not, some of the gentlemen here went to the in-
augural meeting of the Asian Development Bank and they will recall
that practically everybody-this includes the representatives of the
Asian countries-got up and made a very strong plea for special
funds.
Now, the last part of your question as to whether or not the Bank
could change their charter and allow for a certain percentage of their
money to be used for soft-loan purposes, I want to describe what the
funds of the Bank are.
The Bank started out with a billion dollars of authorized capital.
Now you have got to break that down. What does this mean in money?
It means that you only have to pay up half of that so you don't have
a billion dollars. You are going to have $500 million of loanable funds
and you have to break that down. When you break it down it means-
taking the U.S. subscription, which is $200 million-we have to put
up $100 million and we have 5 years to put that up.
So all the United States put in this Bank so far is the first two
payments of $20 million each, $40 million in all, and that applies to
all the other countries. So the Asian Bank has started in business
instead of having $1 billion available to lend, they have got about
$80 million a year of convertible currency for the next 5 years. So you
can break that $500 million down into hard- and soft-loan money,
and you are not doing much each year to meet the real need of the
countries of this area.
So instead of $1 billion you have $80 million of convertible currency
a year for 5 years. Our share of that is $20 million. So all this Bank is
costing the United States has been $40 million so far.
Mr. STANTON. A direct answer to my question, Does the Bank
have the authority?
Mr. ZAGORIN. The Bank has the authority in article 19 of the
charter, by a special vote of two-thirds of the Governors representing
three-quarters of the total voting power of the members, to use not
more than 10 percent of the paid-in portion of the Bank's resources
for special funds. Perhaps this is what you may be referring to.
So if you take, as Mr. Black said, about $80 million in convertible
currency contributed each year, the total amount of convertible cur-
rency which could be used for - setting aside ordinary capital for
special funds would be limited to 10 percent of this $80 million a year.
PAGENO="0072"
68 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
So the availability of soft-loan money from the Bank's own resources,
its ordinary capital, would be no more than $8 million a year for a
total of $40 million of convertible currency over the 5-year period.
And what is intended is that these special funds, if the Board of
Governors so decide, would be contributed and added to the con-
tributions from donor countries.
Mr. BLACK. May I add one thing, Mr. Stanton?
In describing the capital structure of the Bank, the $1 billion, I
broke it into half. The other half that the countries do not put up is
used as a guarantee fund when the Bank later may sell bonds, but
that other half cannot be called up for lending purposes. So all they
are going to have at the end of 5 years is about $400 million of paid-in
convertible currency and the only way to get any more of that is
through special funds or through future bond issues.
Mr. STANTON. Mr. Zagorin, would you furnish me a copy of that?
Mr. ZAGORIN. Yes.
(The material requested follows:)
ARTICLE 19-SPECIAL FUNDS
1. The Bank may:
(1) set aside, by a vote of two-thirds of the total number of Governors,
representing at least three-fourths of the total voting power of the members,
not more than ten (10) per cent each of the portion of the unimpaired paid-in
capital of the Bank paid by members pursuant to paragraph 2 (a) of Article
6 and of the portion thereof paid pursuant to paragraph 2 (b) of Article 6,
and establish therewith one or more Special Funds;
(ii) accept the administration of Special Funds which are designed to serve
the purpose and come within the functions of the Bank.
Mr. REUSS. Mr. Rees?
Mr. REES. Mr. Black and Mr. Barr, in the World Bank meeting
they had last year, there were several meetings on what to do about the
International Development Association, which is the soft-money
operation of the World Bank. I can remember two or three very
frustrating meetings of the major countries; they couldn't come to
any conclusion and as a result we find that IDA really is broke. The
funds it has are already committed and it does not have any new funds.
Do you think this type of situation could happen with the Asian
Development Bank? You have a different situation between the Asian
Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank in that the United
States is the only major rich country in the Inter-American Bank, but
in the Asian Bank you have a nonregional group which subscribe a
total of $965 million.
Can you see the IDA frustration arising within the Asian Bank?
Mr. BLACK. Yes, quite possibly.
Mr. REES. Is this not a problem? There is no way of compelling
the nonregional countries to come into the problem?
Mr. BLACK. I have not found any certain way of doing it, no, except
persuasion.
Mr. REES. How do you think you are coming along in persuasion?
We are talking about $200 million, which is our capital in the original
Bank stocks, so the United States is matching their original capital.
Mr. BLACK. That is correct.
Mr. REES. And Canada has said that they will match their capital.
What abut the other countries? Do they give you any hint about what
percentage?
PAGENO="0073"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 69
Mr. BLACK. For the record, I did not say definitely that Canada
will. I think that they will. We have had indications that they will.
Mr. REE5. Do you have any other indications?
Mr. BLACK. I would be very glad to go on record before this
committee that if the U.S. Government approves this $200 million,
that I think there would be no difficulty in getting this money more
than matched by other countries.
Now, that is all I can say. I mean, there has not been a determined
effort to do that because it is very difficult to do unless you know what
the United States is going to do. But I feel very confident that can
be done.
Mr. REES. Would the regional countries give their contributions
in their own currency or in dollar equivalent?
Mr. BLACK. I would think it would be in their own convertible
currency, and I would imagine that they would have the same condi-
tions that we do, that it would be tied money. But I would think it
is convertible money. It does not make any difference whether it is
dollars or not.
Mr. REE5. Concerning tied money-let's assume you were having a
meeting of the Bank Board and you were discussing a project in
Indonesia and the Dutch have expressed interest in Indonesia as they
are certainly familiar with the country. Could they raise their hand and
say, "We will commit out of our soft window contributions so many
million dollars for this project"?
Mr. BLACK. I think that this is a problem that the Bank will have
to work out. When you raise the fund in the neighborhood of $400
million and the contributors all demand that their contribution is
tied, you have to match this up with the project that comes along.
In other words, as Mr. Widnall was talking about, it may be that
you have a project in the Mekong River and the United States might
put up more than half of the money because this would be a chance to
use U.S. goods and services, so that the Bank just has to work that
out. That is too bad, that the money is tied, because if you didn't have
it tied, you could have competitive proposals which would be a saving
of money to the Bank, but if we are going to tie our money, other
countries will unquestionably tie theirs, and we are going to have to
work it out the best we can.
Mr. R~s. What portion of the $400 million soft-window money
will be used for grants and what portion will be used strictly for loans?
Mr. BLACK. Well, in the first place, it is not certain that all of this
money will be soft-loan money. The bulk of it will probably be sof t-
loan money, and I do not want to be misleading to say that it will not.
But there is a possibility you might use some of this on a hard-loan
basis, depending on the country that is using the money.
What was the last part of your question?
Mr. REES. What percentage would be in actual grant for technical
services?
Mr. BLACK. I think that there would be no grant money at all for
capital projects. This would all be loan money.
As I said in my statement, that there may be cases in technical
assistance, small amounts of money that may be on a grant basis,
there would be no grant economic development money. This would
be on a loan basis.
PAGENO="0074"
70 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Mr. REEs. In the payback of soft-window loan, the two subsidiaries
would be a lower interest rate and perhaps the ability of the country
to pay back in soft currency?
Mr. BLACK. No, if you make a soft loan in dollars, the repayment
will be in dollars. It will not be in the currency of the country.
Now, the soft part of it will be the amortization period before you
start making payments and the interest rate and also the ultimate
term. This is the soft part as compared to what you call the hard loan.
Now, countries that get that will be countries that are troubled with
balance-of-payments problems or who would not be able to service
their loan requirements on conventional terms But it would not be a
case at any time of lending convertible currency and getting paid
back in local currency.
That is not what we mean by soft loans. Whatever currency is
loaned, it is paid back in that currency.
Mr. REES. Has the Asian Development Bank planned to go out into
the open market and sell bonds?
Mr. BLACK. That is right.
Mr. REES. Have you sold any yet?
Mr. BLACK. No; it would be premature to sell the bonds because the
Bank hasn't been in business long enough, and the Bank has only made
so far one loan. They have made their first loan to a development bank
in Thailand. They are looking at several other loans now. But the Bank
has made plans to sell these bonds. They have selected their bankers on
Wall Street, and it takes quite a long time to make preparations to
sell a bond issue.
For example, if you sell bonds in the United States, you have to go
to all the important States and get the States to pass legislation to
make these bonds eligible for investment by insurance companies or
savings banks or fiduciary funds.
Now, the Bank is in the process of doing this today, so that they are
not ready to sell bonds yet, but they will be able to sell bonds, I sup-
pose, within a year or a year and a half, something of that sort.
Mr. REES. As a member of the subcommittee I would like to endorse
the efforts which are being made in this area. I think the whole future
of developing the less-developed countries is through these regional
projects, and I am pleased that you are making the excellent progress
that you are making.
Mr. REUSS. Mr. Mize?
Mr. MIzE. It would appear that the balance-of-payments controls
provided in this project are pretty good.
Joe, would you be willing to accept the same controls when the
IDA authorization comes up here in the next month or so?
Mr. BARR. The IDA negotiation is just in the final stages of com-
pletion.
I think the proposal will go to the Executive Directors in the next
few days and you will get a bill, I would assume, in March. The
proposal as it stands now, I think, is roughly comparable though in
the fact that the IDA proposal would envisage no U.S. payment in
any year in which we were in balance-of-payments difficulties, above
and beyond the amount that was expended in the United States from
IDA resources for U.S. goods and services.
It would be a deferment provision until our balance-of-payments
situation was cleared up.
PAGENO="0075"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 71
Mr. MIzE. All right, thank you.
Mr. REUSS. Mr. Bingham.
Mr. BINGIIAM. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to join in welcoming Mr. Black here. I have the greatest
admiration for the work that Mr. Black has done over the years in
promoting the idea in this country and abroad that aid is a hardheaded
business, not something that we do for reasons of pure altruism or
because we are humane. These factors may enter in, but the develop-
ment of the underdeveloped world is something that is in our national
interest and we can and should go about it in a businesslike and
sensible and hardheaded way. I think Mr. Black, in his years at the
World Bank and since then, has contributed enormously to that
atmosphere.
I would like to say also that I am very much in support of this
legislation. I believe that these regional banks are at the heart of our
developmental effort, and the best possible approach.
I wonder, Mr. Black, if you could tell us a little bit more about the
membership in the Bank and the staff of the Bank. I am particularly
interested in the degree to which countries that are very neutral in
their attitude and timid about alining themselves with efforts we
consider pro-free world are active in this project, and are supplying
staff and otherwise taking an interest. I have in mind a country like
Burma, for example.
Mr. BLACK. Like what?
Mr. BINGHAM. Like Burma.
Mr. BLACK. Burma is not a member of the Bank. They didn't join.
I would like to have Mr. Zagorin tell you more about the staff of
the Bank-rather than give you my own impression.
In the first, I think that the President of the Bank, Mr. Watanabe,
is an extremely able man. I have known him for a good many years.
He was the Director of the World :~3ank and Director of the Monetary
Fund, and he was the Japanese Finance Minister here in Washington,
and I have known Watanabe for 8 or 9 years. I have a very high
regard for him. I didn't have the choice, but he was my pick for
the presidency of the Bank because I think it is very important who
heads an institution.
I think he has been very careful about picking staff, and Mr.
Zagorin can tell you more about that. But I know of several people
he has put in there that I knew were very competent people. I think
he is going about his initial operations properly. He has been very
careful. He hasn't rushed out to make loans. He has personally, I
think, traveled to every one of these developing countries. He has
also had missions go there to take a look at what their problems are
and what their top priorities are in the development programs. I
think he has gone about it exactly right, and I have nothing but the
highest praise for Mr. Watanabe and his operations to date in the
Bank.
Now, on the membership of the Bank, Burma is not a member.
It is the only country there in that area that did not join.
Mr. BINGHAM~ Do we know why they didn't join?
Mr. BLACK. Burma has a peculiar policy of what you might call
being aloof. They are aloof from everybody. They accept no aid from
the United States; they accept no aid from Russia. They accepted
no aid from the World Bank, and they even threw the Ford Founda-
tion out of there. So they are completely aloof.
PAGENO="0076"
72 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
I visited Burma on my last visit there and had a talk with them,
and I would say there is the beginning of hope that they might join
in some of these operations, but so far they are not ready to do that.
The other countries that are members, the nonregional countries,
are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy,
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom,
and the United States. They are the nonregional countries.
A very interesting membership is Switzerland. Switzerland would
never join anything before. This is the first international financial
organization they have become a member of. They have joined this
institi.ition. All the other countries in the Asian area are members,
as I said this morning, including Australia, New Zealand, and Japan,
which are capital contributing countries.
Mr. BINGHAM. It is interesting that Cambodia is a member.
Mr. BLACK. Cambodia is in a peculiar position right now. They
made their first payment of the five payments that I have told you
about. They are a member and they are represented by someone
on the Board, although they have announced they are going to resign.
They have not yet resigned, and I am not sure that they ~ ill resign,
but they have made an announcement that they will. I can't guarantee
Cambodia is going to continue to be a member, but so far they have
been a member and they have made one payment and we hope
they will continue to be a member.
Mr. ZAGORIN. I would just like to add, Mr. Black, that there
are 18 or 20 nationalities on the staff of the Bank. The predominance
is from the developing countries. Practically all of the nonprofessional
staff comes from the Philippines. The professional staff comes from
all over Asia, and there are also very able people from nonregional
countries, including three or four officers from the United States.
Most of the regional countries have staff members in the Bank.
There is widespread participation in the activities of the Bank on
the part of the member countries.
Mr. BINGHAM. I would just like to call attention to one item in
your statement, Mr. Black. At the top of page 3, you refer to the
Netherlands contribution of $1.1 million. That might seem a little
small, but I believe it is true that the Netherlands is making a very
substantial effort in regard to West Irian, which is in the area, and
doing that on its own. I think that should be noted in terms of their
contribution to development efforts in that area; wouldn't you agree?
Mr. BLACK. Well, all I can say is the Netherlands in every case has
come up with assistance. They have been extremely forthcoming and
helpful.
In the figures that I gave you on the money that had been spent on
the Mekong, the Netherlands has put up over $6 million in the pre-
investment studies. There has never been any case when we have
gone to the Netherlands that they haven't contributed their share in
any international proposal we have made to them.
Mr. BINGHAM. Do you happen to have the figure of what the Neth-
erlands is doing per year in West Irian? I have a feeling it is $10
million a year.
Mr. BLACK. I don't know. We can get that for you.
Mr. BINGHAM. I think it might be part of the record.
(The information requested follows:)
PAGENO="0077"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 73
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NETHERLANDS AID TO WEST IRIAN
The Netherlands and Indonesian Governments are jointly supporting the Fund
of the U.N. for the Development of West Irian (F UND WI). F TJNDWI is a
U.N.-administered organization established to plan and carry out development
efforts in West Irian. When FUND WI was reactivated in early 1967, the Nether-
lands renewed its standing offer to contribute $30 million to the organization (in
$10 million annual increments) for the proposed development efforts. This Dutch
contribution, as well as Indonesia's contribution in kind, will be utilized according
to the recommendation of a U.N. team of fifteen consultants who have recently
been in West Irian to prepare a master development plan for the area.
Mr. REuss. Mr. Moorhead.
Mr. MOORHEAD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Gentlemen, I commend you on the way you are going about trying
to solve the balance-of .payments problem in the money which we
would authorize with this legislation, hut I am concerned. Maybe
you could help me on this, on the proposal to sell bonds in the United
States and use the funds raised thereby for development work in
Southeast Asia.
Will that not have an adverse effect on our balance of payments?
Mr. BARR. Mr. Moorhead, we have worked out with the other
international financial institutions ways of mitigating any balance-of-
payments impact by these borrowings.
For instance, in the case of the World Bank and the Inter-American
Bank, they leave on deposit in the United States very substantial
sums as they go to the market. I will submit material for the record
which will show that over the past 5 years that there has been a net
favorable balance-of-payments impact by the operation especially of
the World Bank. We would assume we can work out the same operation
with them, with Mr. Watanabe and the Asian Bank.
I should also remind you, Mr. Moorhead, that before any inter-
national financial institution, including this one, can borrow on the
United States, it must get for each borrowing the approval of the
Secretary of the Treasury. So we would look at every borrowing,
every time any of the international institutions come in to borrow,
we take into consideration the question of the impact of the borrowing
and use of these funds on our particular balance-of-payments program
in an attempt-which has been successful in the past-to offset any
drain in this area.
(The following statement and tables were submitted for the record
to supplement the reply to the previous question:)
The World Bank in recent bond issues in the U.S. has undertaken measures to
offset any large short-term effect the borrowings may have on the U.S. balance of
payments. The proceeds of recent borrowings have been invested in long-term
U.S. securities to be held by the Bank until needed to meet disbursement require-
ments. As of December 31, 1967, the Bank has invested about $200 million in
U.S. Government and Agency obligations and over $500 million in U.S. time
deposits. The Inter-American Development Bank has invested the proceeds of
its borrowings in the U.S. in a manner similar to the World Bank.
PAGENO="0078"
74 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
TABLE 1-ESTIMATED EFFECT OF WORLD BANK OPERATIONS ON U.S. BALANCE OF PAYMENTS
[In millions of U.S. dollars]
Calendar years
1963 1964 1965 1966 1967
U.S. payment of 1-percent subscription
U.S. payment of 9-percent subscription
World Bank bonds sold in United States, net of redemptions.. -19 -40 141 6 187
Net World Bank loan sales in United States 76 22 -35 -50 -55
Investment income earned by World Bank in United States 54 51 54 54 56
Total received by World Bank from United States 111 33 160 10 188
World Bank-financed goods bought in United States 1 209 146 136 148 147
Interest paid by World Bank to U.S. bondholders 42 43 45 50 58
Interest paid by World Bank borrowers to U.S. loanholders 14 17 17 16 13
World Bank administrative expenses in United States 15 17 22 27 29
Total paid by World Bank to United States 280 22~ 220 241 247
Net paid by World Bank to United States 169 190 60 231 59
World Bank long-term investments in United States2 240 341 179
Net paid by World Bank to United States and long-term
investments 169 190 300 572 238
1 Includes procurement specifically identifiable as originating in the United States and the same proportion of procure-
ment not identifiable by country of origin.
2 Maturities of 13 months and over.
TABLE 2.-ESTIMATED IMPACT OF 1DB ORDINARY CAPITAL ON U.S. BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, 1963-67
[In millions of dollars]
Calendar years1 -
1963 1964 1965 1966 2 1967
Payments to 1DB by United States:
(1)Subscriptionsincash
(2) Encashment of notes and use of letters of credit 38 38
(3) Bond sales and sales of participations (net) 3 140 1 104
(4) Investments income 8 8 11 15 17
Total 10 147 12 159
Payments to United States by 1DB:
(1) Procurement
(a) Total commitments - (160) (121) (119) (92) (150)
(b) Total disbursements - (48) (90) (70) (82) (95)
(c) Disbursementsto U.S. suppliers 21 36 28 32 38
(2) Redemption of bonds
(3) Interest on bonds 3 5 10 10 12
(4) Administrative expenditures 4 10 8 8 9
Total 28 50 46 50 59
Net impact on U.S. balance of payments +18 -98 +34 -3 -100
Adjusted impact on U.S. balance of payments3 +58 -35 +27 +78 +10
I The Bank's fiscal year is the calendar year.
2 Based on data through November 1967.
3 Includes estimated balance-of-payments credit resulting from long-term investments with U.S. banks.
Note: Data may not add to totals due to rounding.
Mr. MOORHEAD. Wouldn't it be possible to encourage the Asian
Development Bank to try to sell its bonds, let's say, in the European
market?
Mr. BARR. Precisely, sir, and this is what we have encouraged.
This is what the World Bank and Inter-American Bank have done,
and we will be encouraging the Asian Bank in the same direction.
Mr. MOORHEAD. Do you know, Mr. Black, if the Asian Develop-
ment Bank is making any efforts, such as you described in the United
States, in other markets?
PAGENO="0079"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 75
Mr. BLACK. Well, I know that they are thinking very seriously
about other markets besides the United States. Whether they have
set up specific plans, I don't know. I think they probably want to
first sell an issue in the United States. As a matter of fact, they may
sell one to the United States and Europe at the same, but I know they
are thinking about it.
Mr. ZAGORIN. I would like to add that our charter requires that
we not concentrate our borrowing in one country, that we spread it.
Mr. BLACK. It was at the suggestion of the United States this was
put in there.
Mr. MOORHEAD. How much money to date has the United States
contributed to the Bank for its ordinary capital, and what has the
Bank done with that money?
Mr. BLACK. We]l, the U.S. capital subscription to the Bank is a
total of $200 million. And of that $200 million, all we are required to
pay in is half, $100 million. Of this $100 million we are only required
to put up one-fifth each year. So far we have paid into the Bank $40
million, and the Bank has made one loan-$20 million of that, Mr.
Zagorin said, was in the form of a letter of credit, so we haven't
actually put the t~ull $40 million up. So our total contribution to paid-
in capital can never be over $100 million.
Mr. MOORHEAD. What was the first loan of the Bank?
Mr. BLACK. A loan to a development bank in Thailand. This was
a $5 million loan.
May I quote something to Mr. Bingham about the Netherlands?
Mr. REuss. Surely.
Mr. BLACK. This is a statement made by the Dutch Ambassador
in Bangkok at the dedication of the building that was going to be
used in regional cooperation there. I quote:
In offering this building to ECAFE the Netherlands Government was motivated
and inspired by President Johnson's historic address in Baltimore in April 1965,
when he announced his program for the economic development of the whole
Southeast Asia region and pledged American contribution of $1 billion for this
program. He called on other nations to match this contribution and the Nether-
lands Government responded to this call by initiating a special assistance program
Southeast Asia. Under this program we pledged a contribution of $11 million to
the Asian Development Bank, $4.7 million to the Mekong Committee-
And, as a matter of fact, they have contributed $6 million-
as well as special assistance in the amount of approximately $2 million to the
Republic of Vietnam, and last, but not least, a special amount of $250,000 was
earmarked as a grant to the Secretariat of ECAFE. Why did the Netherlands
Government make this grant available? The reason is my Government's belief in
the principle of regional cooperation and in the need for multilateral assistance to
developing countries.
This, I think expresses the Netherlands Government philosophy.
Mr. BINGHAM. Thank you very much.
Mr. REuss. I want to pursue the matter that Mr. Moorhead
raised. Perhaps I should address my question to Mr. Zagorin.
How much does the Asian Development Bank now have in hand
in convertible currencies? You say $20 million from the United States?
Mr. ZAGORIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. REUSS. How much from everybody else?
Mr. ZAGORIN. I can give you a statement, but it is about $100
million, I believe, in convertible currencies, approximately a hundred
of which, a little more than half of which, is held in the United States.
Mr. REUSS. In what are these currencies invested?
PAGENO="0080"
76 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Mr. ZAGORIN. About a third of that held in the United States is in
securities.
Mr. REuss. Of the U.S. Treasury?
Mr. ZAGORIN. Yes. Government or Government-guaranteed bonds;
and there are some Treasury bills. In addition, approximately $35
million is in the form of time deposits and CD's, primarily 13 months
and longer.
Mr. REUSS. All well and good on this half. What about the other
half? Why isn't that here, too? We are a wealthy giant who wants to
give from our industrial and our agricultural production toward world
aid, but we are a tin can pauper on balance of payments.
Mr. ZAGORIN. Mr. Chairman, the dollars are held here because the
subscriptions were paid in U.S. dollars.
Mr. REUSS. That doesn't impress me. What of the other surplus
countries which have contributed their hard currency? Why not bank
them in New York so we can get a little free ride on them.
Mr. ZAGORIN. Practically every developed country paid in U.S.
dollars, except Japan which paid in yen, Australia which paid in
Australian dollars, and the British who paid in sterling. And our charter
requires that currencies not be switched around except if there is a
special vote of the Board of Directors.
Mr. REUSS. Will you initiate a special vote of the Board of Directors
to the effect that currency from persistent surplus nations be made
available for deposit in the United States to tide us over in our hour
of agony?
Mr. ZAGORIN. Most of those funds are on deposit in the United
States or invested in U.S. securities.
Mr. REUSS. Of what funds, of the total $110 million?
Mr. ZAGORIN. Most of the-
Mr. REUSS. Fifty-five?
Mr. ZAGORIN. Most of the subscriptions say, like Belgium, Nether-
lands, Italy, those subscriptions were paid in U. 5. dollars. And those
funds not yet disbursed are on deposit or invested in U.S. Government
securities, on deposit in the United States.
Mr. REUSS. I am delighted to hear this. Will you give us a complete
breakdown so we may scrutinize it, and if we find there is a surplus
country depositing its partial subscription with the Bank, which is not
now on deposit in the United States, we would want to be informed and
make a recommendation to you in your capacity as Executive Director.
Mr. ZAGORIN. I will provide the information.
(The information requested follows:)
PAGENO="0081"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 77
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ORDINARY OPERATIONS)-SUMMARY OF INVESTMENTS HELD, DEC. 31, 1967
lExpressed in U.S. dollarsj
Country Face amount Amortized cost
Government or Government-guaranteed obligations:
Japan $20,362,500 $20,344,410
United States 20, 278, 000 20, 126,634
Australia 8, 535, 520 8, 445, 183
United Kingdom 5, 928,000 5, 879, 238
Austria 153,846 153,846
Total 55,257,866 54,949,311
Currency Amount
Time deposits and certificates of deposit:
U.S. dollar $35, 100, 000
Pound sterling 6,240,000
Deutsche mark 3,393,750
Italian bra 1,984,000
Norwegian krone 500,000
Austrian schilling 344, 231
Total 47,561,981
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT
BANK (ORDINARY
OPERATIONS)-CASFI IN
MEMBERS, DEC. 31, 1967
~Expressed in U.S. dollarsi
BANKS AND
DEMAND
OBLIGATIONS OF
Members
Cash in banks
Demand obligations
of members I
Total
Regional:
Afghanistan $717,000 $717,000
Australia $711 8,500,000 8,500,711
Cambodia 175,000 175,000
Ceylon 6,395 673,974 680,369
China, Republic of 6, 588 1, 590,000 1, 596,588
India 8, 072 9,290,000 9,298,072
Indonesia 962,863 1,513,158 2,476,021
Japan 11,628 20,000,000 20,011,628
Korea, Republic of 3, 865 2,990,000 2,993,865
Laos 42,000 42,000
Malaysia 8,721 1,990,200 1,998,921
Nepal 3,282 160,462 163,744
New Zealand 1,817,208 1,817,208
Pakistan 7,824 3,190,130 3,197,954
Philippines 71,754 3,200,000 3,271,754
Singapore 9,291 490,200 499,491
Thailand 6,069 1,990,000 1,996,069
Vietnam, Republic of 1, 199, 820 1, 199,820
Western Samoa 5, 998 5,998
Total, regional 2,529,881 58,112,332 60,642,213
Nonregional:
Austria 4,423 4,423
Belgium 500,000 500,000
Canada 2,500,000 2,500,000
Demark 500,000 500,000
Finland 380,952 380,952
Germany, Federal Republic of 6 250 6,250
Italy 15'~968 15,968
Netherlands 1,100,000 1,100,000
Sweden 500,000 500,000
United Kingdom 332, 468 3, 000, 000 3,332,468
United States 220, 212 20, 000,000 20,220,212
Total, nonregional 579, 321 28, 480,952 29, 060,273
Grand total 3, 109,202 86, 593,284 89,702,486
1 Nonnegotiable, non-interest-bearing notes or letters of credit in member currencies.
Mr. REUSS. In fact, if you do distill out of your table, if there
~e any such situations, ~DU would save us the trouble of doing that.
~3O-~614 O-418-----6
PAGENO="0082"
78 ASIAN DFVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Mr ZAGORTN I think, Mr Chairman, you will be very pleased to
see the figures because, in fact, there is so far a substantial benefit
to the U S balance of payments in the holding of subscription funds
in the United States
Mr REUSS Good We want to give credit where this has occurred
1V[r STANTON I wonder if I could interpose a thought here Listen~
ing to Mr Bingham ask Mi Black some pertinent questions on the
operation of the Bank, and in your own colloquy, I wonder what is
the possibility of this committee meeting from time to time with our
representatives on the international banks T think we have developed
a complex that every time we see Mr Barr he has to ask Congress
for money It puts one immediately on the defensive, and maybe if
we passed this legislation it would be another 2 years before we see
Mr Zagorin We have a vital interest in the operation of the inter-
national banks
Mr REuss I completely agree with the gentleman from Ohio,
and, in fact, I intended at the next executive session of this subcom-
mittee to see whether we should not evolve a regular oversight pro-
cedure with our Executive Directors in the Asian Development Bank,
the Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank-all
such agencies over which we have jurisdiction-because I think the
self-criticism in what the gentleman from Ohio said is well taken We
shouldn't merely confine ourselves to revisiting these institutions
before this committee once every several years when they need more
money, look at their printed reports, and let it go at that We should
maintain a continuous surveillance, and fortunately we have, in the
person of Mr Zagorin, a very dedicated U S Executive Director In
this connection would you, Mr Zagorin, prepare for the hearing
record in the next couple of days, an essay, you decide on its length,
two or three pages entitled "My Experiences on the Asian Develop-
ment Bank, What Is It Like, What Are the Problems, What Are
Your Observations," sort of the kind of summer vacation essay which
the schoolboy is invited to write It really would be most helpful
and can be quite informal
Is there any difficulty in your doing this?
Mr ZAGORIN No, sir, I would be happy to
(The information requested follows )
OBSERVATIONS ON THE ASiAN DEVELOPMENr BANK
(By Bernard Zagorin, U S Director, Asian Development Bank)
Pride and honor immediately come to mind as apt terms to desciibe my feelings
in having served for a little more than a year as a member of the Board of Di
rectors of the Asian Development Bank I can think of nothing more interesting or
exciting and indeed honorable in which I could have been engaged during the
period
It is always exciting to be in on the ground floor of a new undertaking It
is more than doubly so w hen the cxci cise has such great historic importance ~ts
the establishment of the Asian Development Bank And it is even more so if
the experience contains as mine does the pride and gratification of knowinl,
that the task was being well done givin~ veiification and enhancement to the
already considerable promise the Bank has held in the minds of the Asian people
for theii future well being
Nineteen Asian and thirteen non Asian countries have become members of this
regional development bank thus forging ~sith good will and resources a ne'%
instrument to promote the economic growth of the develoning countries in
It is not only that these thirty two member governments in their official and
formal acceptance of the Charter jointly endorsed the objectives of the Bank
PAGENO="0083"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 79
during the past year I have seen clear and constant evidence of common purpose
in the minds of the Bank's Management, staff and Directors-irrespective of
nationality, whether from large country or small, from one country of Asia or
another, or from within or without the Asian region. Although young, our institu-
tion clearly has shown that it has great strength in dealing, almost routinely,
with the day-to-day business of common understanding.
I am very proud of this new undertaking, and especially so because I have
been able to play a role during this early, critical phase. And this for two main
reasons: because it represents a great success in institution building, a triumph
in regional and international cooperation; and because of the way the Bank
functions, with our common purpose constantly unfolding in our shared concern
with the economic growth of the developing countries of Asia. No doubt giving
effective support to the economic development efforts of the developing countries
is our major task. But assistance with projects is by no means the single value to
be measured from our work; the spirit as well as the material substance of co-
operation is a very real and valuable part of the whole exercise.
I also feel pride in the Bank's accomplishments to date. Much of it is sub-sur-
face-like the invisible bulk of the iceberg. For those close at hand, there is
ample evidence of steady construction and reinforcement and careful preparation
for the future. A solid framework is being established. Judgment on the quality
of this structure and preparation for the future may best be given only as our
future unfolds, but my appraisal-albeit from a very much interested and par-
ticipating observer-is that the job is being well done and that a great deal has
been done in a very short time.
The President of the Bank-at the very outset strongly and unanimously sup-
ported by the Directors-insisted on rigorous selection by merit in appointment
of staff. And he has been personally involved in the choice of officers. Being an
international institution, the Bank has had a need for a widespread nationality
makeup in the staff, but this has been achieved without compromising choice by
merit. Often the Bank has found it necessary to wait until able people could leave
their previous positions, and in a number of cases the President took the patient
but wise course of waiting until the best people could join the Bank. The staff is
new and in many ways inexperienced in dealing with the tasks at hand, inevitably
leading to some laboriousness. But there is no question that there is a generally
high level of competence in the Bank staff and that the important work gets done
expeditiously and effectively. Flesh and muscle no doubt must be added to certain
parts of the staff structure which may have a certain skeletal quality-for example,
there is a need for strengthening on the engineering side. There has, however,
been a steady buildup in high quality technical staff despite unavoidable disap-
pointments and frustrations in the recruitment process.
The Bank has largely completed the policy and procedural framework for con-
duct of its operations. It has dealt with many operational policies and problems
in a general or anticipatory manner, while necessarily leaving a number of ques-
tions for a case-law method of policy formation. The Board of Directors, con-
sidering documentation prepared by Management, has dealt with many major
issues such as policy guidelines for lending, loan regulations, organizing the Bank's
technical assistance activities, procedures to ensure competitive bidding practices
and efficient use of resources, the approach for hiring consultants, and many ad-
ministrative questions such as the structure of the organization and terms and
conditions of employment. We have, of course, had the great time advantage of
being able to benefit from the experience of the international lending institutions
which preceded the ADB-and in fact a number of the Directors and staff mem-
bers have served with these institutions. We have had the opportunity to observe
and evaluate their practices and achievements-and often to emulate them but
at times feeling the need to find our own ways to meet our needs.
In my view the Bank correctly has been devoting considerable attention to
the great need for technical services in the Asian countries, where so frequently
one finds deficiencies in technical ability seriously interfering with the identifi-
cation and evaluation of economic requirements and the articulate formulation
of project proposals. The Bank will devote time and effort and talent to help
fill these gaps.
The Board has intensively and carefully considered, without completing its
deliberations, the basis on which to administer special funds. The Bank has
recognized that the needs and interests of donor government have to be met,
and at the same time wishes to preserve the multilateral character of the opera-
tion of administering special funds. The Bank has already begun its ordinary
operations-both lending and technical assistance-and will be ready to administer
any special funds when they may be forthcoming from donor governments.
PAGENO="0084"
80 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Finally, two significant regional survey efforts by the Bank are worthy of
note-one completed, the Asian Agricultural Survey, and the other just in a
preliminary phase, the Southeast Asia Transport Survey. To my mind they
reveal a dynamic quality and boldness and imagination as the Bank prepares
itself to deal with the difficult problems of development in Asia. The Bank's
just-completed Agricultural Survey is a first-class job which, I believe, will prove
to be a significant contribution to the development process in Asia. I am pleased
that the Bank not only has the excellence of predecessor organizations against
which to match its efforts in the future, but that the excellence of the Agriculture
Survey will set our own high standard against which to measure our own future
performance.
Mr. REuss. I want to pursue a few other questions. First of all,
Mr. Black, this $200 million special fund proposal. As I understand
it, the request arises from the joint initiative of the United States
and all of the members of the Bank, and it is also true, is it not,
that every one of the Asian, the regional members of the Bank,
has been and is today enthusiastic about the notion of the shared
special funds?
Mr. BLACK. That is correct.
Mr. REuss. This isn't a bright idea of the United States we are
forcing down anyone's throat?
Mr. ZAGORIN. Not at all.
Mr. REuss. Now, another question. In the regular operations of
the Asian Development Bank we have, of course, through Mr.
Zagorin, approximately 17-percent voting power in the Bank. There-
fore, in the regular operations, if the Bank, God forbid, embarked
upon an ill-advised loan or project, while we would presumably
vote against it, if we couldn't get a majority we would simply have
to take our lumps and go ahead; is that not so?
Mr. BLACK. That is correct. But while we have only that percent-
age of votes, the majority of the votes are from the capital exporting
nations, which is very important. In other words, the borrowers
can't run the Bank. That is quite important.
Mr. REUSS. With respect to these special funds that we are now
talking about, it is a fact, is it not, that the United States would
have a complete and unilateral veto power on every single special
fund project and proposal?
Mr. BLACK. No, I don't think so. I think that they would be in
consultation with the United States as to the area that their money
would be used, and to what countries or what types of projects. But
I don't think that we would have a one-vote veto over any specific
project, if it was in the agreed area.
Mr. REIJSS. Well, I want to be sure I understand the proposal be-
cause I had envisioned that in the making up of these little ad hoc
consortia or packages, in the initiation of any of them the United
States would be its own master and would not proceed if it didn't
want to.
Mr. BLACK. We would certainly be consulted, and there would be
no question about that, that we would have to be consulted as to, as
I say, the countries that the money was going to or the type of project.
But I think it would be a very unworkable thing if, after that consulta-
tion took place, and if the project was in the area that we agreed upon,
that the United States could then say we are against that specific
project.
Mr. REUSS. I didn't mean that, but what I did mean in this
special fund, if I understand it rightly, the United States has a much
PAGENO="0085"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 81
more important measure of control on what sorts of projects it wants
to embark, utilizing our contributions, than it does in the regular
operation?
Mr. BLACK. There is no question about that.
Mr. RETISS. Is that not so?
Mr. BLACK. That is exactly right.
Mr. REUSS. For example, let's consider a rather idiotic thing,
let's suppose that the Bank comes along with something it labels a
Mekong River proposal, but that in the main, the prospect is to
provide beautiful wine glasses and hi-fl stereo sets for various bureau-
crats who will live on the Mekong. That is the proposal, and it is
proposed that we put in 48 percent and the other countries put in
52 percent. It seems that we can say, "No, thank you. You redo that
proposal and get rid of the slop or we won't enter," isn't that so?
Mr. BLACK. That is right, no question.
Mr. REIJSS. Whereas, theoretically, in the regular operations of
the Bank, we only have 17~ percent of the vote, and if the other
82~ percent of the members take leave of their senses, we are stuck?
Mr. BLACK. That is correct.
Mr. REUSS. This is important because it seems to me that we,
that is, those of us in the Congress who are interested in some measure
of U.S. control, have a great abundance in the special fund proposal.
Mr. BLACK. There is no question about that. We have a whole lot
more to say than we do for the ordinary capital funds expended.
Mr. MOORHEAD. Mr. Chairman, I just want to make a comment. I
support this legislation as I have the Asian Development Bank in the
past.
I am very pessimistic about a bilateral solution for our situation in
Vietnam. I think the best hope would be for a multilateral solution
worked out by the countries of Southeast Asia. I think that par-
ticipation in the Asian Development Bank makes the Southeast
Asian countries think of themselves as partners in a region and this will
help bring about the ground rules for such a settlement. So I think
this legislation and the work of the Bank is very important.
Mr. BLACK. Could I make two final statements. Here is a selection
of addresses by Mr. Watanabe, the President of the Bank, which
discusses a number of the questions brought up here today, and I
would like to put this in the record.
Mr. REUSS. Without objection, that will be received.
(The material referred to may be found on p. 141.)
Mr. BLACK. And the second point I would like to make is that I have
visited this area three times in the last 2 years, and the things that
impressed me more than anything else was the interest that these
countries have developed in working together, and this is very impor-
tant. The idea of regional cooperation has spread.
I have just come back from a trip to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
Jordan, and Israel, arid while I was there I met the heads of all
governments, prime ministers and foreign ministers and finance
ministers, and talked with a number of business people, and one of
the subj ects that I talked about was the possibility of a Middle
East Bank some day. I also talked about the importance of regional
cooperation, and I got just the opposite from what I had found in
Southeast Asia. The theory in the Middle East was that things
are so difficult now we have to wait until things quiet down, and
PAGENO="0086"
82 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
then we can talk about regional cooperation and we can talk about
a Middle East Bank
Now, our theory in the Southeast Asia is that we think it is im-
portant to get these people to do this now, that this might be con
ducive to peace later on But I was struck by the gIeat difference
in the attitude of the countries of the Middle East and those of
Southeast Asia which, I think, is very important, and which is why
I think we should do everything to encourage their initiative and
their willingness to work together
Mr STANTON Mr Black, in regard to the timing of this particular
legislation, I think you put it well from your particular point of
view From your knowledge of these individuals in the countries
of Southeast Asia, if we attempt to take the initiative and bring
this bill out, and Congress doesn't pass it, would this be interpreted
by these countries in Southeast Asia as a lack of confidence?
Mr BLACK Well, I go back to what I said, I think it is important
to do these things now and encourage them rather than to wait
until everything is quiet
Now, I think that on the timing of this the Asian Development
Bank has its annual meeting, the stockholders meeting, in early
April, and all the countries will be represented there I think it would
be an excellent thing if this legislation were passed before that time
If it were not passed before that time, if it were delayed or if it were
defeated, it would be very discouraging to these people because they
have made efforts to do what we have asked them to try to learn-
how to live together and try to set up these regional projects-so I
think they would be very discouraged as to what they have done if
it was not passed
Mr REIJSS Thank you
We will now stand adjourned until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning,
in this chamber, when we will take up the bill relating to the Inter-
American Development Bank, and I want to thank you, Mr Black
and Mr Barr and Mr Zagorin
Mr BLACK Could I ask for one more thing for the record I would
like to have letters between the Malaysian Foreign Minister and
President Watanabe, and letters between Secretary Rusk and the
Canadian Foreign Minister on special funds entered in the record
Mr REIJSS Without objection, they will be received
(The letters referred to follow )
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia presents his compliments to the
President of the Asian Development Bank and has the honour to refer to paragraph
41 of the Report of the Conference of Southeast Asian Officials on Transport and
Communications, which was held from the 4th-7th September 1967, wherein
it is stated as follows
Recognising the importance of Transport and Communications to regional as
~ dl as national development, the Conference unanimously agreed that the de
velopment of an integr~tted network of Transport and Communications facilities
in the region is of fundamental importance To this end, the Conference undertook
to request the Asian Development Bank to administer on its behalf, the imple
mentation of a comprehensive transport survey covering all modes of transport
in the region While the survey should have as one of its specific objectives rec
ommendations on an irn~estment programme for regional transport projects in
the medium and long terms it should have as its underlying motivation the
development of Transport in the region along lines which will maximise the
possibilities for progressive economic integration of the countries in the area."
The attention of the President is further invited to section VI of the Report
of the Conference s Policy Issues Committee wherein the broad objectives of the
proposed regional transport survey were set out as follows
PAGENO="0087"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 83
"(1) A comprehensive analysis of the prospects of development in Southeast
Asia;
"(ii) Recommendations on an investment programme, divided into medium
and long-term phases, based on economic priorities of individual projects within
each mode; and
"(iii) Recommendations on the policies and measures (including fiscal policies
and Government regulations), which should be taken to ensure that the develop-
ment of Transport and Communications in the region best serve the economic and
social development plans of Southeast Asia."
On behalf of the Conference of Southeast Asian Officials, the Malaysian Govern-
ment has the honour to request the Asian Development Bank to undertake the
regional transport survey referred to above. If this request is favourably received
by the Bank, the Southeast Asian Governments concerned would be further
pleased if the Bank would also assume responsibility for the formulation of the
detailed terms of reference and scope of work of the survey as well as all arrange-
ments relating to its execution.
In the execution of the survey, the Bank will wish to maintain close liaison
and consultation with Southeast Asian Governments participating in the survey.
It would appear to be desirable that the first of such consultations should be
arranged before the finalization of the detailed terms of reference and scope of
work of the regional transport survey. To this end, it is suggested that after the
staff of the Bank has had the opportunity to consider the detailed terms of ref er-
ence and scope of work of the survey, a meeting should be convened between
officials of the Bank and the Co-ordinating Committee of Transport and Com-
munications Officials of Southeast Asian countries which was established at the
Conference in September 1967. As soon as the wishes of the Bank are known in
this regard, the Malaysian Government will undertake to convene the Co-ordinat-
ing Committee in Manila for such a meeting.
In regard to the financing of the regional survey, the Malaysian Government
is pleased to inform the President that the Government of the United States
has offered to assist in the financing of the survey while the Government of
Japan has offered to provide experts to assist in conducting the survey in the
event that the Asian Development Bank agrees to administer the survey. The
Malaysian Government is confident that the scope of work of the survey when
completed will itself help in obtaining additional financing from other donors.
The procedures to be adopted in eliciting such additional financing could be
the subject of discussion between Bank Officials concerned and the Co-ordinating
Committee of Southeast Asian Transport and Communications Officials at the
meeting proposed earlier.
Together with her offer to assist in the financing of the regional transport
survey, the United States Government has also offered to assist in the financing
of feasibility studies for high priority regional projects that can be carried out
out immediately in the field of Transport and Communications. Southeast
Asian Governments which participated in the Conference are interested in
utilising this offer expeditiously, and discussions are underway between officials
of the Malaysian Government, on behalf of the Conference, and officials of the
United States Gov ernment on the administrative arrangements which should
be set up to bring about the speedy realization of this objective. In addition, a
matter of concern is the need to co-ordinate such feasibility studies with the
objectives and execution of the overall regional transport survey. The Malaysian
Government is hopeful that suitable arrangements for the utilization of offers
to finance feasibility studies and for their co-ordination with the survey can be
established and suggests that this is another matter that could be profitably
discussed between Bank officials and the Co-ordinating Committee of Southeast
Asian Transport and Communications officials at their first meeting.
Finally, the President will undoubtedly be interested to learn that an edited
and printed version of the Report of the Conference of Southeast Asian Officials
on Transport and Communications will be despatched to all potenta il donors
on 4th January, 1968, with the request that they consider assisting positively
in the implementation of the Transport and Communications Programme in
Southeast Asia.
The Government of Malaysia would like to take this opportunity to refer
to paragraph 7 of the joint communique of the Conference of Southeast Asian
Officials on Transport and Communications which stated
"The Conference considered that it would be desirable if a special fund were
established under Article 19 of the Charter of the Asian Development Bank
through which external resources could be channelled for regional transport
and communications projects in Southeast Asia."
PAGENO="0088"
84 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OP 1.968
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia, avails himself of this opportunity
to renew to the President of the Asian Development Bank the assurance of his
highest consideration.
KUALA LIJMPUR, December ~?1, 1967.
FEBRUARY 8, 1968.
His EXCELLENCY THE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
DEAR MR. MINISTER: I acknowledge receipt of your Note EL/39/67 of 31 De-
cember 1967 sent to me as a result of the Conference of South East Asian officials
on Transport and Communications held in Kuala Lumpur from 4 to 7 September
1967 and also your subsequent Note EL/6/68 of 4 January 1968 forwarding ten
copies of the edited and printed version of the Report of the Conference.
Please permit me to offer you, and through you to the South East Asian officials
who participated in the Conference, our compliments on the amount of work done
both in preparation for, and during, the Conference. A team headed by Raja
Azam of your Government, visited us in the Bank in July 1967; my colleagues
and I, who had the pleasure of receiving them, were impressed by the sense of
objectivity and constructive effort which underlay their approach to the prep-
aration for the Conference. We also note with appreciation that the concept of
multi-national effort towards a common objective has emerged as one of the basic
perspectives of the Conference.
I have placed your Note of 31 December 1967, as well as the "Summary of Con-
clusions and Recommendations" and the "Joint Communique of the Conference,"
before the Board of Directors of this Bank. We have discussed the contents of
your Note with appreciation of the initiative taken by the Governments that par-
ticipated in the Conference and have given due regard to the various aspects
discussed in the Conference and reflected in your Note. There has been the fullest
realization among us of the importance of transport development on a coordinated
basis through the subregion of South East Asia, both as an instrument of eco-
nomic development and as an instrument of collective action towards the better-
ment of the region. Your Note, apart from the references it contains to feasibility
studies of various projects mentioned at the Conference and to the organization
of Special Funds for transport development, contains the specific request that
this Bank should undertake a survey of transport development in the subregion
of South East Asia.
On the subject of transport development in the subregion, the proposed survey
will have to take into account various factors. These are already within your
cogizance but it may be useful to briefly indicate them.
(a) Such a study would have to be based on specific terms of reference
so as to clarify the work involved and to enable the recruitment of the best
talent available both within and without this region; the terms of reference
would also have to take into account the pattern of transport development
as it is, the studies or surveys that may have been, or may yet be, set on
foot in the member countries concerned and the future lines of economic
growth in the sub-region as realistically assessed as possible.
(b) The survey, if it is to be of maximum use to the member countries
involved, must be so conducted as to form an effective base on which the
member countries may mobilize assistance (financial and/or technical, as
the case may be) from sources of external economic assistance both inter-
national and national; for this purpose, suitable arrangements will have to
be devised so as to get other agencies interested in, and appropriately associ-
ated with, the purposes and progress of the survey.
(c) There are areas in this subregion which have not responded to your
invitation to participate in the Conference; yet some due account has to
be taken of their economic and transport development, present and as
projected, in working out an overall study; suitable means would have to
be devised to obtain, even if not their participation, at least adequate data
about them.
(d) We have to recognize that a survey of this type would almost be
unprecedented; in regional transport surveys elsewhere, as for instance in
Central and South America, there are factors like physical contiguity which
would make an economic and transportation study definitely less difficult
than in this subregion where not merely land communications but all others
(inclusive of inland, coastal and ocean waterways) would have to be closely
studied and integrated into an overall pattern.
PAGENO="0089"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 85
(e) The question of financing the costs of such a survey, which you have
yourself referred to, would have to be closely studied; it is encouraging that
the representatives of the United States and Japan at the Conference indi-
cated the measure of help that would be forthcoming from their governments;
consultation with, and association of, other potential sources of external
finance may bring further such possibilities into focus.
In these circumstances, the Board of Directors has accepted my recommendation
that:
(a) The next concrete step in responAe to your Note should be for the ADB
to formulate a framework, both operational and financial, for the proposed
survey;
(b) In the evolution of this framework, your Coordinating Committee be
closely consulted as also other interested organizations; and
(c) This framework be submitted to the Board of Directors for their final
decision as early as possible.
Of course, in evolving this framework, we will, side by side therewith, try to
locate the expertise needed to conduct the survey.
I trust, Mr. Minister, that these proposed steps will be regarded by you as
indicating the practical interest that the Board of Directors of this Bank and I
feej in the possibilities opened up by your Note.
Permit me, Mr. Minister, to avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you
the assurance of my highest consideration.
Yours sincerely,
TAKESHI WATANABE, President.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
August 19, 1967.
Hon. PAUL MARTIN,
Foreign Minister,
Government of Canada.
DEAR PAUL: I am writing in connection with the plans of the Asian Develop-
ment Bank to establish special funds on concessional terms for high priority
needs in Asia's development. Our two governments joined with others at the
Bank's Inaugural meeting in Tokyo last November in indicating that we agreed
with Asian members that such funds were needed and that we favored their
establishment. President Watanabe as well as ECAFE issued an appeal for
contributions to such special funds. A proposal for a special agricultural fund
initiated by Foreign Minister Miki of Japan is the farthest advanced of proposals
for these funds.
President Watanabe has visited most of the capitals of member countries of
the Asian Development Bank and among other topics has discussed a special
agricultural fund. A top flight international team of agricultural experts is pres-
ently assisting the Bank in developing firm plans. Current efforts under the
leadership of Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, to develop regional
proposals in the field of transportation and communication are likely to result in
firm proposals for an ADB special fund. Mekong Committee staff have also
initiated consultations with ADB concerning management of a special fund on
Mekong development to be managed by the Bank. This proposal may be delayed
until arrangements are completed for going ahead with the Prek Thnot project
in Cambodia.
I was pleased to learn that during the visit of Mr. Peter Towe of your Ministry
to Washington during the week of July 10-14, there were extensive discussions
and exchanges of views on a full range of new regional programs now evolving in
East Asia. These discussions have proved to be very useful and it would appear
desirable for our two countries to continue to cooperate closely and on a regular
basis with respect to those regional development matters in Southeast Asia which
are of concern to both our governments.
Sincerely,
DEAN RUSK.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, CANADA,
September 1, 1967.
Mr. DEAN RusK,
Secretary of State
Washington, D.C'., United States of America.
DEAN RUSK: I was happy to learn from your letter of August 19, 1967 that
your officials found useful the recent informal discussions with our officials on
PAGENO="0090"
86 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
programs for regional development of Southeast Asia. The reports which I have
received of these talks indicate that Canada and the United States share the view
that increased amounts of developmental assistance will be necessary for that area,
and that special trust fund arrangements, under Article 19 of the Asian Develop-
ment Bank's Charter, would be an appropriate mechanism for carrying through
at least some of these new regional programs.
As you know, we are at present discussing with the Asian Bank a Canadian
contribution of trust funds this year in the amount of $600,000 for technical assist-
ance which we hope would assist the Bank to move ahead quickly with the formu-
lation of high priority projects. I would expect that the conditions with respect to
the use of these Canadian funds would be similar to those approved by the Bank's
Board of Directors for this year's United States' technical assistance contribution.
You will know also that I have earlier indicated Canada's willingness to consider
a contribution of up to $2 million in interest-free 50-year loans to the Brek Thnot
project in Cambodia. I would hope that this undertaking might, along with other
projects of the Mekong Committee, be carried out through special trust fund
arrangements under the aegis of the Bank.
Canada has, from the outset, been a strong supporter of the Asian Development
Bank and it is because of this that we have been prepared to make a capital sub-
scription relatively larger than that of other nonregional members. We have also
had a particular interest in the provision of special trust funds to the Bank, and
this was underlined by the Canadian delegation at the Bank's inaugural meeting
in Tokyo last November. You may be interested to know that while no final
decisions have been taken on the level of such special funds which Canada might
be in a position to contribute, I would expect that, subject to satisfactory arrange-
ments for their use, they would bear an appropriate relationship to our capital
subscription.
Yours sincerely,
PAUL MARTIN.
Mr. REUSS. I have a telegram supporting the legislation from
David Rockefeller of the Chase Manhattan Bank, and a letter of
support from Secretary of State Rusk. Unless there is objection,
they, too, will be received in evidence.
We will now stand adjourned until tomorrow morning.
(Whereupon, at 12:10 p.m., the subcommittee adjourned, to
reconvene at 10 a.m., Wednesday, February 28, 1968).
(The letters above referred to and other correspondence and
material submitted for the record follow :~
NEW YoRK, N.Y., February p26, 1968.
Hon. HENRY S. REUSS,
Chairman, Subcommittee on International Finance, House Banking and Currency
Committee, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.:
Understand you are conducting hearings on legislation for two hundred million
dollars U.S. contribution over 4 years for special funds for Asian Development
Bank. Wish to express my wholehearted support this legislation. Believe U.S.
Government making available, together with other countries these additional
resources to ADB for concessional lending in addition to ordinary capital will
greatly strengthen Bank. Feel it most practical for U.S. Government give such
support to this young but very important institution which has captured attention
and imagination of Asian countries and holds more promise for them for future
development in Asia. Therefore urge Congress take speedy action to support
President's proposal to provide special funds to ADB.
DAVID ROCKEFELLER,
Chase Manhattan Bank.
PAGENO="0091"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 87
THE SECRETARY OF STATE,
Washington, D.C., February 27, 1968.
Hon. WRIGHT PATMAN,
Chairman, Banking and Currency Committee,
House of Representatives.
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In his message of September 26, 1967 the President
set forth his reasons for submitting to Congress HR 13217, a bill authorizing
a United States contribution to "special funds" of the Asian Development Bank.
Mr. Eugene Black, the President's Adviser on Southeast Asia, has had a critical
role in both the creation of the Asian Bank and the development of its special
fund concept. I would like to take the occasion of his appearance before your
Committee to re-emphasize the importance the Administration attaches to this
bill.
Lasting peace in East and Southeast Asia depends upon the belief of the
peoples of this region that there is a practical and peaceful path to an early
improvement of their social and economic status. Only this belief can eliminate
the tempting alternative presented by the false promise of quick and violent
solutions to deep-seated problems. At the heart of the present hope for peaceful
development in the area is a growing system of regional cooperation.
The countries of East Asia, in the last three years, have begun major efforts
in regional cooperation-political, cultural, and economic. There is a new aware-
ness among its leaders of the advantages of multilateral cooperative approaches
to common problems and a new commitment to international programs and
institutions that will supplement and reinforce national self-help efforts. The
Asian Development Bank, the Asian Pacific Council, the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Secretariat are
conspicuous examples of cooperative institutions that Asian initiative and leader-
ship have created in recent years.
Progress has reached a point where Asia's leaders require the assurance of
additional support to undertake new cooperative measures in the fields of agri-
culture, transport and communications, and development of the Mekong Basin.
Special low interest funds-which are not now available from the Asian Develop-
ment Bank-~are required; for most of the projects will involve long term in-
vestments which, although critically important, do not generate early financial
returns. Because its membership is large and ideologically diversified, its financial
resources already substantial, its charter elastic, and its management exceptionally
competent, the Asian Development Bank is uniquely qualified to play a central
role in these additional forms of cooperation. The legislation before you will
enable the United States to join with Japan and other donor nations in assuring
Asia's leaders of our continued support for these promising cooperative programs
and arrangements.
Mr. Eugene Black will discuss in far greater detail the Asian Development
Bank and the specific and urgent needs of the Bank for special funds. He brings
to his judgments a lifetime of experience in wise and effective use of money for
the improvement of human welfare in developing countries. Since April 1965,
he has travelled to Asia four times and talked with government leaders and
ordinary people in the arc of countries reaching around China from Korea to
Burma. The Administration could have no more experienced or able a spokesman.
I join with him in urging your Committee's support for HR-13217, for I
deeply believe that it represents a sound and conservative investment in the
future peace of this troubled area of the world. If the Committee wishes the
Department to furnish additional testimony in support of this bill, I will be
pleased to arrange this at the Committee's convenience.
Sincerely yours,
DEAN RUSK
FRIENDS COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL LEGISLATION,
Washi~igton, D.C., March 6, 1968.
Representative HENRY S. REuss,
Chairman, International Finance Subcommittee, House Banking and Currency
Committee, House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
DEAR REPRESENTATIVE REus~: From the beginning, the Friends Committee
on National Legislation has warmly supported U.S. participation in the Asian
Development Bank. Like other groups we have recognized that the conventional
hard money wing of the Bank would probably be less important than its authority
to make long-term, low interest rate loans out of Special Funds. We are delighted
PAGENO="0092"
88 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
that the Administration is now recommending that the United States contribute
to these Funds so that the Bank can do more to promote basic agricultural de-
velopment, better roads and clean water supplies throughout the region, H. II.
13217.
However our enthusiasm is severely tempered by the narrow view of the Bank's
potential, as reflected in the Administration's testimony. The Bank was set up
to foster regional cooperation and to contribute "to the harmonious economic
growth of the region as a whole." Yet the Administration's presentation shows a
tendency to regard "region" as a political, rather than a geographical entity,
and to think of the Bank as a weapon in the cold war. Although Mr. Black calls
the Mekong development "one of the great and exciting opportunities and chal-
lenges of our time," we are all aware that construction of a $33 million dam in
the Cambodian section has been delayed because of U.S. refusal to aid any country
that furnishes economic assistance to North Vietnam. Many Asians would be
uncomfortable with the linking, by Mr. Black of regional development with U.S.
efforts to make "Communist agression unprofitable in Vietnam."
We of the Friends Committee firmly believe that peace can only come when
the Nations of the world decide to try to bridge their differences, instead of em-
phasizing them. We urge this Committee to go on record as favoring an end to the
ideological orientation of U.S. foreign aid programs. We urge you to support
membership in the Bank for the three Asian countries that are presently ineli-
gible because they do not belong to any specialized agency of the United Nations.
These three countries are the People's Republic of China, North Vietnam and
North Korea. The fact that these Communist areas would not accept member-
ship while the War continues, only indicates the urgency of ending the War and
starting the reconciliation process.
The FCNL is equally unhappy over Mr. Black's assertion that U.S. contri-
butions to the Special Funds will be tied to U.S. procurement because of balance
of payments difficulties. The balance of payments is not in such desperate straits
that we need to tie $200 million of procurement, especially since that procurement
will be spread over four years. Furthermore it is past time for Americans to
reexamine a foreign policy that rationalizes sending billions of dollars overseas
to pay military bills, while simultaneously penalizing international development
programs by demanding that aid funds be spent at home. Tying U.S. loans
sets a bad example for others donors. It complicates the functioning of inter-
national agencies. It increases development costs and forestalls development
of industrial production in the poor nations. Because of these factors, we urge
this Subcommittee to express its disapproval of the "tied loan" concept.
We would also hope that your committee would analyze the adequacy of
the U.S. contribution to the Asian Development Bank. According to recent
estimates, the Vietnam War may cost Americans more than $32 billions in fiscal
1969 alone. Americans would undoubtedly prefer to spend their money on reduc-
ing national tensions and promoting cooperation in Asia, regardless of whether
that effort is matched by contributions from other nations.
We would appreciate your including this letter in the printed record of the
hearings.
Sincerely yours,
FRANCES E. NEELY.
THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE OF THE USA,
Washington, D.C., February 29, 1968.
Hon. HENRY S. REuss,
Chairman, Subcommittee on International Finance, House Committee on Banking
and Currency, Washington, D.C.
DEAR CHAIRMAN REuss: The Cooperative League of the USA has been follow-
ing with interest and appreciation the opportunity your Subcommittee is giving
to those who wish to present the case for an authorization of $200 million in
special funds to be administered by the Asian Development Bank. We under-
stand that this relatively modest financial support will become available over a
four year period as our share of this special fund to be used by the Bank in its
regional program for the particular support in the fields of agriculture, communi-
cation and transport, and for development in the Mekong River basin.
Consistently over the years the biennial Congresses of the Cooperative League
have supported in formal resolutions, and through their approval of the League's
own participation in our foreign aid program, the objectives of this legislation.
The multi-lateral approach of the new Bank is especially appealing, and the
new legislation being proposed calls for increased multilateral financing as well.
PAGENO="0093"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 89
We believe it to be a healthy tendency that a substantial share of the Bank's
resources are coming from some of our Asian neighbors.
Involvement is the key to interest and support, and this degree of involvement
is assurance of new vitality and concern for what the Asian Development Bank
is undertaking to do.
The League has commended the President, the Agency for International
Development, and the instrumentalities (such as the Asian Development Bank)
through which our country implements its purpose of helping with the economic
development of lesser developed countries. Naturally any step to increase the
capital available to make the Bank's program more effective has the support
of the Cooperative League.
Our interest derives logically from the Cooperative League's international
program which began in India in the early 1950's and has also included projects
and programs in Thailand, Korea, Vietnam and elsewhere.
Currently we are involved in developing a cooperative fertilizer program for
India which parallels in its objectives of increased productivity for India the
purposes of the Asian Development Bank.
This first hand experience in the area of the Bank's concern highlights for the
18 million member families of the League's constituent members the need for such
special funds as are now proposed on more lenient repayment terms than would
obtain in the Bank's ordinary operations. Those of our citizens who have solved
some of their own economic problems through use of the cooperative technique
are understandably eager to share with the peoples of Southeast Asia and the
remainder of the underdeveloped world the benefits implicit in cooperative
methods.
We believe our vigorous participation in the Bank's support will directly
influence the wider participation by such countries as Japan, The Netherlands,
Canada, and Australia in this part of the Bank's activities. Adequate provision
of these special funds will enable the Bank to carry on its conventional operations
without pressure upon its normal operations of hard money loans while remaining
flexible enough to respond to projects with great economic persuasiveness which are
nevertheless ineligible for the Bank's loans. It is important that the Bank be
empowered to extend technical assistance on a non-reimbursable basis.
We note with pleasure that when President Eugene Black of the World Bank
testified before your subcommittee he noted specifically that the proposed agri-
cultural development fund would stress projects promising quick pay out in terms
of higher agricultural output, examples being farmers' organization of credit co-
operatives and marketing facilities. It would be presumptuous of us to applaud
the opinion of so distinguished and qualified a public servant as Mr. Black, but
we do most enthusiastically second from our own experience in India his perceptive
observation of the credit needs in this part of the world and the key role the Asian
Development Bank can play in meeting them.
We hope and believe you and your Subcommittee will give early, sympathetic
attention to this request by the Asian Development Bank.
Sincerely yours,
SHELBY EDWARD SOUTHARD.
STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY MRS. ROBERT STUART, PRESIDENT, LEAGUE OF WOMEN
VOTERS OF THE UNITED STATES
The League of Women Voters supports ll.R. 13217, the bill to authorize a U.S.
contribution to n~w Special Funds of the Asian Development Bank. We believe
the creation of this operation by the Asian Bank is a logical next step in the Bank's
development. Long-range, low-interest loans are to be provided through the
Special Funds for regional transportation, communication, and agricultural
projects as well as the Mekong River basin program. Thus the Special Funds will
provide an essential ingredient for the economic development of the region. As
a supplement to the "ordinary capital" of the Bank, the Special Funds can finance
priority projects that will undergird economic gains made by regular ADB loans.
The experience of the World Bank and of regional institutions like the Inter-
American Development Bank show that "hard" and "soft" loans must go hand
in hand if viable economies are to fostered in the less developed nations.
Within a short period of time the Asian Bank has become a reality. Its manage-
ment is essentially Asian. Thirty-two nations are now members, 19 of them from
the region (including the affluent countries of Australia, Japan, New Zealand);
11 Western European nations (including Switzerland, which joined the Bank in
late 1967); and Canada and the United States. It is truly a multilateral effort
PAGENO="0094"
90 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
of both developed and developing nations in supprt of a genuinely Asian self-help
project. The multinational aspect of the development projects to be undertaken
by the Special Fund helps to assure that the Asian nations will plan developments
together rather than country by country. If effectively supported and utilized,
the Asian Bank can go far in fostering a rational economic structure in the area
and help to avoid the divisiveness of competition among nations.
We believe the supportive role of the United States as projected in H.R. 13217
is a proper one. The U.S. contribution of $200 million ($50 million a year for four
years) would not exceed over 50 percent of the total $400 million to be provided,
nor will U.S. funds be forthcoming until other countries have contributed. Funds
would be made available under letters of credit to be cashed at a later date when
needed.
All too often we are reminded of the gloomy side of the world's development
picture: the developing countries' lagging share of world trade; pressures of
population on the food supply; diversion of resources to support unproductive
internal and international conflicts; shortage of technological skill in the less
developed countries. There is, however, a bright side. After twenty years of
experience in bilateral and multilateral aid, there is a great store of accumulated
knowledge about growth problems. The successful program planning of the World
Bank is one illustration. The economic progress in South Korea and Taiwan is
another. New cooperative efforts to improve agricultural development in South-
east Asia, undertaken under ADB auspices, show promise. Relatively small U.S.
increases to development funds such as this legislation proposes can serve to build
on the progress already made in Asia, especially in agricultural, transportation,
and communication projects for which it is anticipated the Special Funds will be
used.
In short, the League of Women Voters supports H.R. 13217 to provide a U.S.
contribution of up to $200 million to the Special Funds of the Asian Development
Bank. In our judgment, this legislation represents an important statement of
intent on the part of the United States that our country wants to promote the
peaceful development of Asia.
Washington, D.C., Mar. 7, 1968.
HENRY S. REUSS
Chairman, International Finance Subcommittee, House Banking and Currency
Committee, House Office Bldg., Washington, D.C.
The American association of university women urges authorization fir appro-
priation of the $200 million for a United States contribution to the multilateral
special funds of the Asian Development Bank. We believe the activities already
supported through this agency provide a particularly constructive approach to
region development and that this progress justifies this authorization. We would
appreciate inclusion of this wire in the record of the hearings.
Miss VICTORIA SCHUCK,
Chairman, Legislative Program Committee.
Miss GWENDOLEN CARTER,
Area Representative in World Problems.
MERCK & Co., INC.,
Rahway, N.J., February ~6, 1968.
Hon. HENRY S. REUSS,
Chairman, Subcommittee on International Finance, House Banking and Currency
Committee, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
DEAR MR. REuss: The Development Committee of the United States Council
of the International Chamber of Commerce supports Bill 5. 2479 to authorize
the appropriation of $200 million for a U.S. contribution to special funds of
the Asian Development Bank.
We consider it very important that the Asjan Development Bank will be
efficient and effective in fostering development in Asia. The experiences with
similar institutions have been good ones. Economic and industrial development of
the nations in that area may be the key to the protection of peace.
Attached is a statement of the Development Committee of the United States
Council of the International Chamber of Commerce on business and the problem
of development. Our recommendation is made against the background of that
statement.
Sincerely yours,
ANTONIE T. KNOPPERS, M.D.,
Chairman, Development Committee, United States Council of the International
Chamber of Commerce.
PAGENO="0095"
IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
committee report...
United States Council of the International Chamber of Commerce Inc
1212 Avenue of the Americas New York NY 10036 JU 2-4850
91
JANUARY 12. 1968
BUSINESS AND THE PROBLEM OF DEVELOPMENT
BY
THE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
PAGENO="0096"
92 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
January 12, 1968
Business and the Problem of Development
The Second United Nations Conference on Trade and Develop-
ment will convene in New Delhi on February 1, 1968, and is
scheduled to run until March 25. Attendance will include repre-
sentatives of all trading nations. Discussion will range over
most of the economic issues confronting less and more developed
countries in their interrelationships. From the "Algiers Charter"
which was agreed to by the 77 developing countries in preparation
for UNCTAD, and from the related discussions at the Symposium
just concluded under the auspices of the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization, it is apparent that many of the pro-
posals to be raised in New Delhi will be controversial.
As the Development Committee considered the New Delhi role
of the international business community, it became clear at an
early stage that there had to be a careful review and fresh
assessment of the nature of the development problem and efforts
to cope with it. The present report is intended to make clearer
the distinction between the fundamental causes of underdevelopment
and its symptoms and to assess in this light the recent history
and possible future of attempts to accelerate economic develop-
ment in the poorer two-thirds of the world. This background
report has been worked out by the Council's staff under the
guidance and supervision of the Development Committee.
UNCTAD: A Framework from wh ich to Approach
the Second Conference
The first United Nations Conference on Trade and Develop-
ment convened in the spring of 1964, after a long period of
controversy. The developed countries were originally unenthusiastic
about such a world trade conference under the sponsorship of the
United Nations. In the 1950's, the Soviet bloc had advocated
such a conference "primarily for the purpose of attacking Western,
and particularly American, strategic trade controls as well as
the U.S. policy of denying most-favored-nation treatment to the
Soviet bloc." di
~ Isaiah Frank, Foreign Affairs, January 1964.
PAGENO="0097"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 93
Early History and Background
In 1961, at the General Assembly, the original idea for a
world trade conference was transformed. The developing countries
saw such a conference as a means of directing attention to their
problems of trade with the rest of the world. With this shift
in emphasis, with the unanimous sentiment of the LDCs in favor
of such a conference, the United States decided to support the
Conference, and in August 1962, the Economic and Social Council
resolved to convene the Conference.
The developing countries placed great hopes on this Con-
ference: they viewed it as the single most important event for
them since the founding of the U.N." GATT is, in their view, an
organization which works primarily to the benefit of the devel-
oped countries. UNCTAD, on the other hand, is designed to deal
primarily with the problems of the developing countries, including
the unsatisfactory distribution of world production and income.
The developing countries see the world trading system currently
as an obstacle to change, but potentially as an important means
of achieving greater parity in production, in markets, and in
income.
A basic problem of the less developed economies is that the
maintenance of an adequate rate of growth depends on a rapid
growth of imports. These in turn depend on foreign exchange
availabilities, either from capital imports or from exports. At
present, capital imports through aid and private foreign invest-
ments from non-Communist sources amounts to about $11 billion a
year, while total export earnings of the LDCs total about $41.7
billion (OECD, 1967 Review). Thus export proceeds are thç prin-
cipal determinant of the import capacity of the developing coun-
tries. The central theme of UNCTAD is development through trade.
The MDCs versus the LDCs
The more developed countries (MDCs) established a pattern
of commercial policy after the post-war reconstruction which
reflects four main themes:21
1. Reduction of tariffs on manufactured products on a most-
favored-nation basis through bargaining in the fremework
of GATT.
2/ See John Pincus, Trade, Aid, and Development, especially p. 58.
90-614 O-68-----7
PAGENO="0098"
94 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
2. Maintenance of controls over trade in agricultural products,
to protect domestic farm prices and incomes.
3. Creation of customs unions and free trade areas which serve
partly to increase trade among members of these blocs, and
also, by increasing their incomes and demand, to increase
their extra-bloc trade.
4. Opposition to systems, other than customs unions and free
trade areas, designed to increase some countries' trade at
the expense of others.
The developing nations, with a majority ~in TJNCTAD, do not
accept these precepts of international trade. A large number of
the LDCs see the most-favored-nation principle as discriminatory
against their interests. The Final Act of the First Conference
rejected these "non-interventionist", non-discriminating principles
of GATT in favor of an interventionist role for trade policy--
the guidance of both the geographical and commodity structure of
trade to conform to predetermined objectives. The General Prin-
ciples of the Conference endorsed policies including:
1. Establishment of targets for MDC-LDC trade.
2. Infant industry protection in the LDCs. (This raises a
complex problem, for the entire production structure of the
low-income countries could be regarded as an infant industry.)
3. Recommendations aimed at maintaining markets for LDC com-
modities in the developed countries in face of entrenched
MDC policies--agricultural protection, development of
synthetic substitutes for LDC products, and international
movement of surpluses at cut-rate (in short, de facto dumping.)
4. Establishment of a fund to compensate LDCs for deterioration
of their terms of trade--that is, a decline of prices of
their exports relative to their imports.
5. Increases in multilateral aid, and easing of terms of bi-
lateral aid, with provision for repayment in local currency
or merchandise.
6. Endorsement of measures to improve LDC balance of payments
on service account (shipping, insurance, tourism, etc.)
PAGENO="0099"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 95
Each of these policies raises complex situations, both in
economics and politics. For the underdeveloped countries, the
principal accomplishments of this TJNCTAD were the formal pre-
sentation of an approach carrying a sense of newness in the
treatment of chronic problems of world trade and aid and the
establishment of a permanent forum of their own where they could
thrash out the problems of low-income countries and through which
they could more effectively campaign for acceptance of their
program. UNCTAD promised a means of establishing solidarity in
order to pressure the developed countries (among other things).
The Negative Character of the Developed Countries' Stance at UNCTAD
Unlike the LDCs, the economically advanced countries did not
have a unified program and their voting was largely uncoordinated.
As the developed countries were in the minority, a positive stance
would have done little to alter the Final Act but it could have
diminished the negativity of their responses to the proposals of
the LDC5.
The United States delegation put itself in the position of
leading the opposition to almost all the LDC-sponsored resolutions,
and did not come to UNCTAD with a program of action. Not prepared
to contribute positive recommendations, the U.S. efforts were
largely confined to opposing the proposals of the less~.developed
countries.
In general terms, the goals of the industrial countries were
largely defensive: politically, to appear sympathetic with
development aims; economically, to avoid making concessions that
would cost money, hurt producer interests, or change the existing
most-favored-nation system of multilateral trade concessions.
And in the economic sphere, the deve].pped countries were relatively
`successful--as they were bound to be--no significant material
concessions were made.
The negative appearance of the voting record was not wholly
the fault of the MDCs. The rigid supersensitivity of the LDCs
in some cases harmed their own cause. "The developing countries
would make uncompromising demands on the. . .Western industrialized
countries, and would not only reject the latter's attempts at
modification, but would express dissatisfaction when demands were
not accepted precisely as made. "2.1
2/ Sidney Weintraub,. Foreign Affairs, October 1964.
PAGENO="0100"
96 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
New Delhi Conference
The second Conference of UNCTAD will meet in early 1968 at
New Delhi. The emphasis there will be on how to negotiate and
implement the recommendations of the first Conferen~e. There
has been general disappointment that the efforts of UNCTAD have
not so far resulted in significant achievement. The second Con-
ference presents an opportunity for the MDCs to assume a more
positive point of view, including especially:
1. A genuine attempt to concentrate on positive, practical
steps which can be taken by the developed countries. Granted
that a more favorable environment for private investment is
urgently necessary, and granted that this should be a matter
of acknowledged priority for the capital-courting countries,
the effort should be concentrated on what the MDCs can do
to contribute to development. A massive program of stimu-
lants to private investment in the LDCs is both a precondition
for success and also the demonstration of the political will
in the MDCs. It is highly desirable in this round that the
MDCs, and particularly the United States, present a positive
program of action rather than react defensively to proposals
and pressures of the LDCs.
2. The encouragement of a more united and planned program among
the developed countries. It goes without saying that the
molding of various MDC initiatives into a consistent posi-
tive program is essential to overcome separate and frequently
competitive inconsistent approaches by them individually.
At the same time, a coordinated program which appears as a
fait accompli which the LDCs have no alternative but to
accept or reject or which basically recites merely the
general responsibilities of the LDCs would have a decidedly
negative effect. What is needed is for the industrial
nations to come to the second UNCTAD Conference with a pro-
gram which is designed to improve the character of genuine
discussion and the prospect for agreed measures backed by
the commitment of developed and less-developed countries
alike.
The Plight of the LDCs-
Insufficient Impulse for Production
The less-developed countries have 70 percent of the world's
population, but receive 14 percent of the world's income. The
"rich", developed nations, with only 30 percent of the total
population, account for 86 percent of the total income.
PAGENO="0101"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 97
For income comparisons, the only ready-to.-hand figures are
in terms of GEP, and concededly these are incompatible in specific
aspects and in general may measure relative market development
more accurately than income availability. But there can be little
*question about the enormous gap. The average per capita income
in the LDC~ is about $110 a year, one-fifteenth the average of
$1700 in the MDCs.
The table in the Appendix shows the per capita Gross National
Product (GNP) and the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of
se~.ected countries .~/
The high rate of population growth in many of the LDCs has
tended to offset much of the GNP growth.
GNP GROWTH RATES 1957/1958 to l963/l964-~"
Rate of GNP
Rate of GNP Growth per Rate of Popu-
Areas Growth Capita lation Growth
All LDCs 4.5% 2.1% 2.4%
Near East 5.5 3.2 2.3
South Asia 4.4 2.1 2.3
Far East 5.6 2.8 2.8
Latin America 4.1 1.3 2.8
Africa 4.4 3.1 1.3
All MDCs 4.4 3.1 1.3
Europe 4.8 3.8 1.0
United States 3.7 2.1 1.6
~/ GDP at Factor Cost, which differs from GNP by the exclusion
of net factor incomes received from abroad and by the exclusion
of the excess of indirect taxes over subsidies, is the value
of a country's output in terms of the cost of producing it.
This toting up of income accruing to the factors of production
domestically is one of the two standard ways of measuring a
country's domestic product.
~ John Pincus, Trade, Aid, arid Develop~~, p. 72.
PAGENO="0102"
98 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
The inadequacy of the capital structure and formation is
dramatically encountered in the basics of their economy--in their
sketchy infrastructure. The infrastructure encompasses transport
facilities, communications, electrical power, as well as basic
market institutions, and an unsatisfactory infrastructure directly
hampers production. The existence of an adequate infrastructure
is taken for granted in the MDCs; deficiencies in infrastructure
remain a genuine obstacle to growth in the LDCs, though notable
achievements have been made in art encouraging number.
The combination of poverty &nd inadequate dynamism adversely
affects other institutional developments: education, administra-
tion, technology and the investment process. Although Improve-
ments are being made, the problem cf illiteracy and inadequate
education continues to thwart modernization of the less developed
economies. At present, 85 percent of Africa s population is
illiterate. More serious, from an economic standpoint, than the
lack of universal primary education, is the deficiency of secondary
education--that is, the shortage of persons with the skills most
critical for modernization. The middle and upper ranks of business,
as well as the public administration, consist almost entirely of
those with a secondary school ethication; they are the backbone of
a modernizing nation. In Africa, less than 5 percent of the
school-age population is enrolled in secondary schools; in the
United States 90 percent of those between fourteen and seventeen
years of age are enrolled. As a result of unsatisfactory educa-
tion, there is a severe shortage of administrative, technical,
and entrepreneurial skills in the LDCs--hampering the development
process.
The administrative posts in LDCs are accordingly often filled
by persons of inadequate training and experience. There is often
a lack of knowledge regarding the appropriate strategy for economic
development. The character of the political administrations of
LDCs sometimes act as a deterrent to private investment in these
countries. The absence of a modern technology in the LDCs is
glaring. The great majority of the population in the under-
developed world still live on an agricultural subsistence basis.
Industrialization is at an incomplete and primitive level.
Industrial productivity per capita in Africa, for example, is
about one-twentyfourth the level in MDCs.
The inadequate savings-investment process in the LDCs retards
the development process to an acute degree. Investment can be
defined as the commitment of resources to production--the creation
of new power supplies, the building of factories, plants, and
facilities, the development of natural resources, the training of
PAGENO="0103"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 99
personnel. In MDCs, money for capital investment is obtained
through savings. In the United States, and most other MDCs,
investment (and savings) characteristically runs at a rate of
some 15 percent or more of national income. The ratio of savings
to income is lower in LDCs--less than 10 percent. Increased
income is most often spent on increased consumption at the expense
of increased savings.
Indigenous savings cannot provide sufficient funds for
adequate development in the LDCs at this stage; other sources
must be found. Obviously the term `underdeveloped is not to be
defined as merely needing help from outside sources; it describes
a reality of sub-par economic achievement. The reality is one of
poverty, and inadequate means to escape that poverty.
The real plight of the LDC5 is to be seen in terms of the
chronic defects that can be simply summarized as the absence of
political will, on the part of both LDCs and MDC5. These defects
are notable in the lack of effective priority in sorting out and
coping with the self-perpetuating poverty of 70 percent of the
world's population. To anticipate a conclusion discussed later,
UNCTAD's greatest accomplishment could be in providing for such
political will in MDCs and LDCs and in harmonizing the conditions
of its exercise.
The problem of establishing the necessary political will is
currently complicated by specific misgivings in the field of
private enterprise. From the standpoint of private investors
there is a lack of confidence in LDC political stability and
efficiency. Similarly, the LDCs share the growing concern of
all capital receiving countries over the possibilities of investors'
undue influence in local policy. The forging of compatible politi-
cal will on both sides promises to be as formidable as it would be
rewarding.
The Big Roadblock Hampering Increased Production:
Capitalj~~
Underdevelopment implies a lack in the many factors associated
with increased production and the translation of that increase
into a higher standard of living. The most critical scarcity
associated with underdevelopment is, in the broadest sense,
capital. Moreover, capital growth is the core process on which
all other aspects of growth depend. The improvement of infra-
structure, education, training of workers, and new production
facilities are all forms of capital investment. Without extensive
PAGENO="0104"
100 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
capital an economy operates at a low level of output; without
an effective investment process for capital growth, an economy
stagnates at this level.
The importance of agriculture requires a special word here.
For many of the LDCs, agricultural development must be singled
out as virtually the precondition to further general development.
The ancillary gains--roads, refrigeration, marketing institutions,
processing plants, improved employment opportunities, etc.--with
food industry development may alone provide the environment in
which some LDCs will in fact be able to accumulate the capital
needed for their broadened economic growth. For these countries,
self-sufficiency in foodgrain is essential if economie viability
is to be maintained or achieved. In many instances, the foreign
exchange cost of foodgrain imports is already the largest single
item on the import list, and the drain on foreign exchange could
easily reach unmanageable proportions if the growth of a~iicul-
tural output does not keep pace with demand.
Adequate capital accumulation is extemely difficult; the
governments of less-developed countries should therefore attach
a high priority to augmenting capital accumulation. Since more
than three-fourths of the output in LDCs is produced by the
private sector, policies should aim to foster private saving and
investment. The task of capital accumulation may be impossible
if an LDC is forced to rely wholly on its own resources. More-
over, there is a natural tendency of capital to flow from lesser
to more developed areas, both between regions of a particular
country and between nations. This `negative flow", often accen-
tuated by political uncertainties, accounts for a sizeable flow
of funds away from the LDCs; such funds are known to play a very
significant role in the $13 billion Eurodollar market, and the
annual flow to Europe, the United States, and elsewhere is
substantial--perhaps $1 billion. Also, local capital in LDCs is
frequently employed in unproductive hedges against inflation.
Thus, significant additional amounts of LDC service funds could
be attracted to the development effort.
In the more developed countries there is a self-reinforcing
interplay between capital formation and income growth. A portion
of increased income from expanded production normally feeds back
into new investment, resulting in additional production and once
again additional income. Since a continuous process of capital
generation is missing in the economies of the less-developed
countries, the critical problem is how to activate it.
PAGENO="0105"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 101
If the LDCs are to mount a better investment program, a
portion of their capital and "know-how" will have to come from
the resources of the MDCs. It has become increasingly clear
that governmental and multilateral aid, while essential, do not
provide enough capital to support an adequate development program.
If the gap between the requirements of development and the re-
sources needed for this task is to be closed, foreign private
investments in the LDCs will have to increase.
If private investment in the production of the less-developed
countries is to be increased to the extent that would appear
necessary to bring about self-reinforcing economic growth, two
aspects of the problem stand clearly forth in need of examination--.
those negative factors presently inhibiting foreign investment
and those positive measures which could be taken to encourage
its incidence.
Fear probably plays the largest role in deterring what would
otherwise be an increased flow of private foreign investment to
the less developed countries-- fear of foreign domination on the
part of the host country, and on the part of the investor, fear
of expropriation and non-transferability of earnings as well as
erosion via inflation. With increased stability and confidence
these fears appear to be dwindling.
As less developed countries recognize that the foreign
private investor is essentially a citizen under their domain,
subject to the same regulation as are domestic companies, and as
the investor participates more fully as a corporate citizen of
the host country, foreign domination seems ever more improbable.
As the less-developed countries demonstrate that they are willing
to honor contractual agreements, to accord non-discriminatory
treatment to foreign investors, and to permit companies to re-
patriate profits the fears of private foreign investors will
subside.
Yet such fears are still a controlling factor in many in-
stances. A greater degree of frankness in the context of an
objective dialogue among all interested parties must be developed
to come to grips with the root problems underlying these fears.
There are a number of specific advantages that private
foreign investment can bring to the economies of the LDCs.
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102 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
They include:
1. An inflow of capital into the LDCs which may be instrumental
both in raising the productivity of labor and in allowing
a larger labor force to be employed. If the real wages
earned by the workers in new enterprises exceed their former
wages (typically agricultural), the host country will gain
economically and benefit socially.
2. A contribution to the less-developed countries' foreign
exchange resources.
3. A further financial benefit in the establishment of a new
tax-paying enterprise. These benefits in the various forms
of local taxation often constitute a sizeable proportion of
the country's revenues.
4. A transfer of modern technology including managerial and
technical skills. The subsidiary company in the LDC has at
its command the technological and managerial innovations of
the parent company or its affiliates.
5. The training of local labor in new skills and knowledge.
6. The establishment of a higher degree of efficiency in pro-
duction. The hypothetical alternative--a local public
project--would not be subject to exacting standards of per-
formance dictated to the private company by competition.
7. The creation of ancillary service industries.
In sum, capital accumulation at an adequate rate within the
LDCs is the key to the increased production necessary to improve-
ment of LDC living standards. Such a process requires stimulation,
for the natural tendency is for capital to flow away from less-
developed areas.
The Importance of Keeping Questions Open
Development, and especially the problem of capital formation,
have been subject to much debate, theorizing, and discussion.
One gain has been the recognition that this field of study is
enormously complex, and that no ready solutions are available.
The phenomenon of newly independent but underdeveloped nations~-
juxtaposed to other nations with advanced, industrial economies--
is itself new to our time and past experiences with development
PAGENO="0107"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 103
under different political circumstances have only doubtful
relevance. There is an evident urgent need to come to terms
with the key problem of capital formation in less-developed
countries--time and effort must be invested if this complex
process is to be mastered under present circumstances. It is
vitally important that governments and business keep the ques-
tions concerning development open. Such an openness would en-
compass a willingness to examine all possibilities for improve-
ment in the developmental effort, all methods (however new) which
could lead to an acceleration of capital formation in the LDC5.
The Fundamental Dilemma
The type of environment conducive to investment is to a
large extent the result of development rather than a precondition
to it. Ultimately the LDCs must assume the responsibility for
maintaining such an environment, but it is concededly not in the
interests of either the less developed or more developed countries
to rely on the lengthy and perhaps unrepeatable processes of
Western development. The goal is an accelerated and different
process adapted to the economic needs of the less-developed coun-
tries, taking advantage of modern technology--something surely
not beyond our capabilities.
Whatever may be the responsibilities of the less-developed
countries in this crucial investment-development process, the
most promising approach open to the more-developed countries is
to examine realistically the ways and means of progress under
existing conditions. Whether such an approach will be successful
depends on the effective cooperation of the governments of the
more-developed and less-developed countries as well as their
businessmen.
The Attitude of Business
Should not the business community first of all attempt to
distinguish and give its support to any proposal which could lead
to an improvement in the economic stability of the LDCs? The
fact that no proposal can be a panacea and the fact that some
steps taken may fail completely, cannot be justifications to
abandon the developmental effort. If new steps are to be tried,
an open mind to the questions of development is of utmost necessity.
The business community already recognizes the importance of
aiding the developmental process by encouraging and welcoming
steps tending to reduce the chronic economic instability of many
of the LDCs. Such steps include:
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104 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
1. An abatement of inflation.
2. Integration in order to achieve an adequately sized market.
3. Improvements in physical infrastructure.
4. Improvements in institutional infrastructure, especially
--an improved money market;
--better capital access;
--greater educational facilities.
5. Stabilization of export receipts.
6. Encouragement of indigenous private investment.
Economic stability cannot, of course, be the ultimate goal.
Yet some degree o~f economic stability is a precondition to econ-
omic growth, which in turn is the means to higher living standards.
Steps taken to improve the economic stability are, by nature,
also political steps. Economic development is ultimately a polit-
ical effort.
The next UNCTAD ConfererAce in New Delhi will deal with some
of the aspects of economic development in the hope of ameliorating
the poverty of the LDCs, Proposals include commodity agreements,
improved access for exports from the LDCs to the developed world,
preferences for the manufactures and semi-manufactures originating
in the LDCs, and financing provisions to protect LDCs from for-
tuitous losses in export earnings. A fresh look at these pro-
posals is required. The criticism often directed at the LDC
proposals in UNCTAD is that such proposals demand a hidden variety
of aid, rather than genuine self-help, and this fact too readily
becomes a rationalization for developed countries' opposition to
such measures. A more positive view might well embrace such
measures of indirect aid as preferences and tax incentives as a
complement to the very limited program of direct aid by the MDCs.
The Encouragement of Private Investment in the LDCs
The processes of private investment and capital formation in
the developing countries cannot be assumed to be identical to
those of the more-developed countries. A different environment
and a distinct heritage have created the necessity of new attitudes
and new ideas. It is therefore essential for business to remain
open to innovations and adaptations in order that private enter-
prise can be rendered relevant to the LDCs, so as to serve the
interests of both parties.
PAGENO="0109"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 105
Steps that could serve to encourage private foreign invest-
iuent in the less-developed countries might include:
1. The establishment of a climate which will attract private
savings and investments. This includes reasonable price
and exchange stability, an avoidance of arbitrary inter-
ference by government in business decisions, and a recog-
nition of contractual and property rights. This is a fun-
damental requirement and unless an attractive climate is
established, many of the other steps mentioned below will
not be fully effective in attracting private resources intG
the development effort.
2. Tax incentives for private investment in the less-developea
countries. Such incentives could originate in either the
more-developed or less-developed countries. It is important
that the tax policies of a less and a more developed couutr~
not cancel each other out. Basically, income derived from
underdeveloped countries should not be taxed at all by mor~
developed countries. In any event, tax policies of the morE~
developed countries should offer encouragement to their
nationals for investment made in less-developed countries
by way of the allowance of credits, or deductions in deter
mining tax liabilities to the developed country.
3. Investment guarantees. These would work primarily to reduce
the greater risks of investment in the less-developed coun
tries. As discussed previously, risks would remain, but not
to such a great degree that potential private investors WOUIL
be deterred. The objective is to find a means of making the
excessive risks of the LDC environment more manageable.
4. Management contracts. Since resources and managerial per-
sonnel are limited, companies inevitably will employ them in
situations where the long-term yields are expectd to be in
the best interests of the company. Accordingly, management
contracts, under which a firm is hired" by a government to
set up an enterprise in a less-developed country, are not
attractive to many companies and in many industries. T~o
much emphasis--and too much hope for results--should there-
fore not be placed on this form of private participation in
LDC undertakings. Nevertheless, where suitable and accept-
able, management contracts ean be a means for getting know~-
how and technology into less-developed countries where there
are strong reasons mitig~ating -against direct investment.
PAGENO="0110"
106 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
5. Joint enterprises. Such investments, made jointly with a
local entrepreneur, may occasionally overcome the antagonism
against foreign private investment in the less-developed
countries. Such partnerships are not always economically
possible; the success of a particular enterprise may depend
on an efficiency which could be achieved only by control of
the investing company in the more-developed country. A joint
enterprise can at times, however, be an attractive alter-
native; its potentialities should not be~ dismissed. It should
be recognized that stringent requirements for joint enter-
prises can deter foreign private investments which would
otherwise be made.
These approaches are not to be dismissed as a negation of
private enterprise--as long as time and managerial effort are
committed to the investment, there is the risk of wasting it in
comparison to gains of time and skill used elsewhere.
What a business firm ultimately decides upon must be "good
business" --there must be a prospect of satisfactory earning oppor-
tunities if an investment is made in the less-developed country.
It is, however, the responsibility of the business community to
encourage and support all those steps which could lead to an
environment in which such opportunities for earnings would be
more likely to exist.
An Integrated approach to Development
It has become increasingly apparent that a more integrated
approach is required to development. The lack of such an appro~h
has produced too many instances of projects, in themselves desir-
able, that have not in fact lived up to expectations, either
because progress had not taken place in closely related fields or
because in fact projects of far higher priority had been overlooked.
Recent application of the "systems approach" to economic develop-
ment has proven highly successful in ensuring that all inter-
related areas are developed simultaneously, in harmony, and in
order of priority so that the pitfalls of unused production are
avoided.
Essentially the "systems approach" is a planning and evaluation
concept in which all the major variables underlying a given sector
of economic development are placed in a framework or "model". By
changing these variables at will, their interrelationships can be
studied, and the optimum course of action or the optimum combination
of scarce resources can be selected to arrive at a pre-selected
PAGENO="0111"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 107
objective. Again, optimum' can be defined in a number of ways
such as lowest foreign exchange impact, or lowest capital invest-
ment, or lowest operating cost, or a combination of these. The
systems approach" by definition, attempts to identify all the
elements which may have a bearing on the ultimate success or
failure in achieving the desired objectives. As such, it must
deal not only with quantifiable aspects of the problem, such as
supply and demand, the logistics of site selection, profit poten-
tials, etc., but also with questions of policy relating to prices,
taxation, ownership, which sometimes depend more on political and
social attitudes than they do on economics. Thus, a systematic
cataloging of physical, technical and environmental conditions
must precede the all-important questions of institutional or or-
ganizational format, or potential sources of financing in which
private enterprise can play a decisive role.
Such an integrated and well-planned approach on a country or
regional basis serves to provide the framework within which private
enterprise is most likely to be attracted and to best perform its
productive function. Governments and international organizations
should focus increasing and urgent attention on this overall
approach to development.
Conclusion
Development is an exceedingly complex process, encompassing
cultural, political, psychological, and social, as well as economic
factors. Economic and social gains can only take place where there
is the political will for them. At present, MDCs and LDCs alike
lack the political will; this seems apparent in the general tendency
to understate the real difficulties in the way of development and
in the desultory character of efforts to ameliorate admittedly
intolerable conditions. Eduardo Frei Montalva, the President of
Chile, writing about Latin America, asserted that:
The problem is not one of financial resources
only, though at certain times these have been
scant when compared with the legitimate needs
of the region. It is essentially a political
problem requiring the expression of the will
to change, together with the acceptance of the
measures needed to bring about this change..~/
~/ Eduardo Frei Montalva, Foreign Affairs, April 1967, pp. 447-48.
PAGENO="0112"
108 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANI~ ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
The Political Will
Unlike the more-developed countries, adequate capital forma-
tion in the less-developed countries is not inherent in the
working methods of the economy. So crucial is this fact that it
serves to define the difference between less-developed and more-
developed countries. Changes are needed, The first question that
arises is whither these countries have the political will to pursue
sound economic policies and take other required measures despite
the political, economic, and social costs of some of these measures.
The burden, of course, falls most heavily on the less-developed
countries themselves--it is they that may have to choose, for
example, to give priority to developmental requirements over those
of strengthening a sense of national identity. It is they that
will have to adopt policies to attract adequate resources to
capital formation, even though all their resources and more could
be devoted to the urgencies of a consumption-starved society.
But unless these decisions are taken, the prospects for dynamic
growth are dib.
Theodore Geiger writes:
More fundamental than the question of resource
and skill availabilities, are the difficulties
of decisio~i making and administration imposed
on these countries by the characteristics of
their transitional societies and elite groups,
In particular, the inability to agree on the
priority to be assigned to economic growth and
to adopt the necessary policies, and the in-
adequacy of the governmental and private efforts
to carry out such policies as may be adopted,
constitute more inhibiting limitations on rates
of economic growth in Asia and Africa than do
scarcities of capital and technical skills.1/
The sense of urgency is equally necessary in the more-
developed countries. There is a well-recognized need for external
financing for many of the prerequisites of economic development,
and until the more-developed countries are prepared to accord
priority to meeting the minimum requirements the chances of success
of any efforts on the part of the less-developed countries are
correspondingly lessened.
.2/ Theodore Geiger, The Conflicted Relationship, p. 149.
PAGENO="0113"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 109
The MDCs, giving lip-service to the goal of development, have
spent only a token amount of their income for development in the
LDCs. The success of the Marshall Plan in Europe led policy--
makers in the West, and especially in the United States, to expect
that a similar outpouring of aid to the underdeveloped nations
would result in equally rapid progress. It was initially assumed
that Asian, African, and Latin American recipients possessed corn--
parable decision-making, programming and administrative abilities.
When American and other sources of foreign aid did not effect the
anticipated results, disillusionment about the whole foreign aid
p~rogram grew, a phenomenon which can readily be observed in Congress
today. The United Nations has recommended that MDC5 apportion 1
percent of their GNP to LDCs for development. U.S. commitments
of economic assistance to LDCs and multilateral agencies rose from
0.54 percent to 0.68 percent of GNP between 1956-1960 and 1961-
1965. But from a 1962 high of 0.76 percent, they fell steadily
to 0.60 percent of GNP in 1965. Recent cuts in Congress in the
foreign aid bill suggest that official aid may be falling absol-
utely as an amount, as well as relatively as a percentage of income.
The primary responsibility for development has to rest with
the LDCs themselves. This proposition is not really subject to
practical debate. But the developed countries, with an important
and widely acknowledged interest in the establishment of more
viable conditions in the LDCs, have a responsibility to treat
UNCTAD as a means to this end. UNCTAD' s success will depend upon
the ability of the participants to discover potential areas of
agreement and on their willingness then to reach agreement--
this process, in fact, amounts to an act of political will.
UNCTAD provides a unique forum to which both MDCs and LDC5 come
expressly to discuss development.
The 1964 UNCTAD Conference, while successful in naming most
of the important issues and in establishing the permanent machinery
so urgently desired by the L]DCs, failed as such a forum for genuine
discussion. This kind of discussion among LDCs and MDCs alike is
exactly what the development problem needs if it is to be moved
off dead center. In 1964 the LIDCs spoke in terms of rigid demands
without giving an opportunity for compromise, and the MDC5, though
favoring development in principle, refused in fact to accept its
assumed heavy economic price.
With the touchy question of permanent machinery out of the
way, this next UNCTAD Conference should lend itself to more fruit-
ful discussion. The MDCs need to recognize and act upon their
interest in alleviating the unacceptable poverty of the under-
developed world. A willingness, on the part of both LDC5 and MDCs,
90-614 O-68----8
PAGENO="0114"
110 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
to cooperate in a substantive nanner and on a sufficient scale
is essential if adequate development is ever to be activated.
It is in the overriding interest of both less and more
developed countries to develop the necessary sense of urgency to
make those choices and decisions that are most likely to result
in accelerated production in the less-developed countries and to
give priority to implementing these decisions. Political will is
ultimately the general attitude of the peoples of the c~ountries
concerned, which is reflected in the positions and decisions of
their governments and of their business communities. UNCTADs
greatest accomplishment could be to reach a better understanding
of the nature and origin of these attitudes, so that choices can
realistically be made that will result in the creation of the
needed political will in MDCs and LDCs alike and in the harmoniza-
tion of the conditions of its exercise.
PAGENO="0115"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 111
APPENDIX
A RANK OF SELECTED COUNTRIES ACCORDING TO 1962
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT~J
Rank (In 141 per capita per capita
Country Total CountrI~j GDP GNP
United States 1 $2,691 $2,980
United Kingdom 10 1,454 1,668
U.S.S.R. 17 1,052 1,158
Puerto Rico 22 825 908
Venezuela 25 701 694
Japan 30 551 592
Panama 37 429 446
Colombia 53 285 298
Algeria 56 229 269
Saudi Arabia 58 225
Ghana 70 187
Brazil 73 179 204
Guatemala 76 166 178
Iraq 78 162
U.A.R. 82 156
Ceylon 85 137 145
Philippines 87 125 134
Thailand 93 106 116
Haiti 96 93
Bolivia 97 90
Nigeria 98 86 -~
Kenya 100 85
China (mainland) 104 77 85
India 107 73
Indonesia 108 73
Cambodia 116 68
Burma 126 57 64
Guinea 129 52
Ethiopia 130 51
Yemen 137 50
Upper Volta 140 43
8/ Source: Karl Deutch, Nationalism and Social Communication,
pp. 262-270.
PAGENO="0116"
PAGENO="0117"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
Background Information
and
Materials Relating to Membership
of the United States of America
January 1968
113
PAGENO="0118"
PAGENO="0119"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
Background Information
and
Materials Relating to Membership
of the United States of America
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Letter of the President of the Bank 2
Letter of Secretary of the Treasury 3
The Bank
Financial Resources 5
Membership and Subscription of the United States of America 6
Borrowing by the Bank 6
Provisions of the Agreement 6
Prior Approval by Member Country 6
Limitation on Borrowing 7
Borrowing in the United States 7
Status with Respect to U. S. Interest Equalization Tax and Balance of Pay-
ments Measures 7
SEC Reports
Operations 8
Lending Activities S
Ordinary Operations and Special Operations 8
Technical Assistance 8
Administration of the Bank 9
Independent Auditor 10
The Agreement Establishing the Asian Development Bank 10
Appendices:
1. The Asian Development Bank Act ii
2. Agreement Establishing the Asian Development Bank 12
3. SEC Regulation AD 25
115
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116 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
COMMERCIAL CENTER P. 0. BOX 126
d~EVEjJpMENTs MAKATI. RIZAL. PHILIPPINES
-- TELEPHONE: 88-87-81
CABLE ADDRESS: ASIANBANK
January 1968
In discharging its function of promoting economic growth in Asia, the Asian Develop-
ment Bank is fortunate to be able to call on substantial resources from both within and
outside the region. It is indeed a unique feature for a regional development bank that it
counts among its members not only the countries of the area, but also the majority of
the world's developed countries. With the membership of the United States, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, Japan and eleven European countries, the overwhelming majority
of the world's capital exporting nations are represented in the Bank. This global partner-
ship and the close cooperation between the member countries guarantee that the Bank
will have wide support in its efforts to mobilize funds and resources from within and
outside the region, in creating conditions conducive for investment and in helping to
channel a greater flow of development funds to Asia.
After having established in the first year of its existence the basic structure and
operational framework and having built up an experienced staff drawn from Asia, North
America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, the Bank is now starting its loan operations.
The Bank welcomes the participation of the United States of America, which has
played such an important role in setting up the Bank. It looks forward to a variety of
important contacts with the United States in coming years and, in time, to the oppor-
tunity to raise funds in the United States market.
I trust that the background information contained in this pamphlet about the Asian
Development Bank, its organization, functions, financial resources and policies, will be
of interest to the financial and business community in the United States.
2~Oi~~
TAKESHI WATANABE
President
2
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ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 117
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
WASHINGTON
December 29, 1967
[This letter was individually typed and sent
to the governors of various states, most
of which have legislative sessions in 1968.]
Dear Governor
The purpose of this letter is to enlist your cooperatiQn in initiating steps to qualify bonds of the Asian
Development Bank for investment by institutional and fiduciary investors in the State of
Similar steps have previously been taken by many states with respect to securities of the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) and the Inter-American Development Bank.
The Asian Development Bank is an international financial institution established pursuant to an agreement
between the United States and thirty* other countries in North America, Europe and Asia. It is patterned
on the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank and serves the same regional development
role in Asia that the Inter-American Development Bank does in the Western Hemisphere. While the
Bank has no present plans to issue its securities in the United States, it would be highly desirable to initiate
the necessary State action now because of the time usually required to take the statutory or administrative
action necessary to qualify the Bank's bonds for investment by institutional and fiduciary investors. Each sale
of the Bank's obligations in the United States will be preceded by the specific approval of the United States
Government.
The authorized capital stock of the Bank is $1,100 million. Of the $965 million subscribed to date,* half
is to be paid in and half is callable to meet obligations on borrowings or guarantees made by the Bank
chargeable to its ordinary capital resources. The arrangements with respect to the capital stock of the
Bank are similar to those of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. In effect, the
callable capital serves as a guarantee backing securities sold by the Bank in private capital markets. The callable
capital of the developed member countries, which are the United States, Japan, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, and ten European countries, amounts to over $325 million.*
The United States and Japan are the two largest subscribers-each having subscribed $200 million of
capital stock. The United States has a full time Director and Alternate Director participating in the direction
of the Bank's affairs, and I serve as the U. S. Governor of the Bank.
The Asian Development Bank Act (22 U.S.C. 285 et seq.), authorizing United States membership in the
Bank, also authorizes national banks to deal in and underwrite securities issued by the Bank and places these
securities in the same category as United States Government, Municipal and State securities for purposes of
the Securities Exchange Act.
The Asian Development Bank is an important forward step toward economic development and regional
cooperation in Asia. Because the activities the Bank was designed to perform coincide with the national
interests of the United States in this area, the United States has become a member of the Bank and strongly
supports the Bank's performance of this mission. The degree to which other industrialized countries of
Europe, North America and Asia are also supporting the Bank and particularly the substantial participation
of Japan represent a highly desirable sharing of efforts for peaceful progress in Asia.
I urge you to take appropriate steps so that institutional and fiduciary investors in your State have
authority to purchase Asian Development Bank securities when it is decided to issue them.
Sincerely yours,
HENRY H. FOWLER
* On December 31, 1967, after this letter was sent, Switzerland became a member of the Bank, whereby the subscribed
capital of members was raised to $970 million and the callable capital of the developed member countries was raised to
$331.28 million.
3
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118 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
THE BANK
The Asian Development Bank (the Bank) is an international institution, the members of which
are governments, established and operating under an Agreement Establishing the Asian Develop-
ment Bank (the Agreement) which became effective on August 22, 1966. The Bank officially
began operations on December 19, 1966. Its headquarters are located in Makati, Rizal, Philippines,
a suburb of Manila.
As of December 31, 1967, 32 governments had become members of the Bank. Nineteen of these
members are regional countries and 13 are non-regional countries. These members and their
respective subscriptions (expressed in U. S. dollars) and voting power are as follows:
Total Subscribed Number Percent of
Member Capital of Votes Total Votes
Regional:
Afghanistan $ 4,780,000 1,235 1.02%
Australia 85,000,000 9,257 7.64
Cambodia 3,500,000 1,107 0.91
Ceylon 8,520,000 1,609 1.33
China, Republic of 16,000,000 2,357 1.94
India 93,000,000 10,057 8.30
Indonesia 25,000,000 3,257 2.69
Japan 200,000,000 20,757 17.12
Korea, Republic of 30,000,000 3,757 3.10
Laos 420,000 799 0.66
Malaysia 20,000,000 2,757 2.27
Nepal 2,160,000 973 0.80
New Zealand 22,560,000 3,013 2.48
Pakistan 32,000,000 3,957 3.26
Philippines 35,000,000 4,257 3.51
Singapore 5,000,000 1,257 1.04
Thailand 20,000,000 2,757 2.27
Viet-Nam, Republic of 12,000,000 1,957 1.61
Western Samoa 60,000 763 0.63
$615,000,000 75,883 62.58%
Non-Regional:
Austria $ 5,000,000 1,257 1.04%
Belgium 5,000,000 1,257 1.04
Canada 25,000,000 3,257 2.69
Denmark 5,000,000 1,257 1.04
Finland 5,000,000 1,257 1.04
Germany, Federal Republic of 34,000,000 4,157 3.43
Italy 20,000,000 2,757 2.27
Netherlands 11,000,000 1,857 1.53
Norway 5,000,000 1,257 1.04
Sweden 5,000,000 1,257 1.04
Switzerland 5,000,000 1,257 1.04
United Kingdom 30,000,000 3,757 3.10
United States 200,000,000 20,757 17.12
$355,000,000 45,341 37.42%
Total $970 OOO~O0 121,224 101100%
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ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 119
By the terms of Article 3 of the Agreement, membership in the Bank is open to "(i) members
and associate members of the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East;
and (ii) other regional countries and non-regional developed countries which are members of the
United Nations or any of its specialized agencies." Within the foregoing limitations, new members
may be admitted upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total number of Governors
representing not less than three-fourths of the total voting power of the members.
The percentage of the voting power in the Bank's affairs held by the respective member
countries is related to their capital subscriptions. The two largest subscribers, the United States
and Japan, each holds 17.12% of the total voting power. In addition, Australia, New Zealand,
Canada, the United Kingdom and the eleven European member countries hold an aggregate of
about 30% of the total voting power. This means that the voting power of the developed member
countries represents about 64% of the total.
In organization, functions and capital structure, the Bank is similar in many respects to two
previously established international development financing institutions, the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) and the Inter-American Development Bank.
The purpose of the Bank is to foster economic growth and cooperation in the region of Asia
and the Far East and to contribute to the acceleration of economic development in the developing
member countries of the region, collectively and individually.
To fulfill its purpose, the Bank has the following principal functions:
(a) to promote investment of public and private capital for development purposes;
(b) to utilize the resources at its disposal for financing development of the developing
member countries of the region;
(c) to meet requests to assist member countries in the coordination of their development
policies and plans; and
(d) to provide technical assistance for the preparation, financing and execution of
development projects and programs.
FINANCIAL RESOURCES
The Bank's present authorized capital is $1.1 billion. It is available for subscription only
by member countries, and $970 million has now been subscribed. The capital subscriptions are
designed both to provide funds for loan operations and to afford security for the bond issues
and other indebtedness to be incurred by the Bank. One half of the subscribed capital ($485 million
at present) is in the form of "paid-in" capital, and the other half remains "callable". Since the
latter portion may be called only when required to meet obligations of the Bank in connection
with funds borrowed or loans guaranteed by it, such capital is not available for use by the Bank
for making loans and constitutes, in effect, a guarantee for the Bank's outstanding indebtedness.
The "paid-in" portion of the capital is to be paid in five equal, annual instalments; one-half
of each instalment must be paid in gold or convertible currency and the other half may be paid
in the currency of the respective member country. The Bank may also accept non-interest-bearing
demand notes in lieu of the amount payable in a member's currency, so long as such currency
is not needed by the Bank for the conduct of its operations. Payment of the "callable" capital
may be made at the option of the member in gold, convertible currency, or the currency required
to discharge the obligations of the Bank for the purpose of which the call is made.
The first two instalments of capital subscriptions (except for Switzerland which joined the
Bank on December 31, 1967 and paid its first instalment) had been received as of the end of
December, 1967. The Bank will receive the three remaining instalments of capital subscriptions
in the years 1968, 1969 and 1970.
PAGENO="0124"
120 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
As of December 31, 1967, the total assets of the Bank were $196.4 million. Of this total,
$103.8 million, derived from cash subscriptions and accrued interest, were invested in time deposits
and government or government-guaranteed securities in various capital markets. These funds
are immediately available for disbursements under Bank loans. More than half of the Bank's
investments are in U.S. dollars (in the form of time deposits or certificates of deposit, U.S.
Treasury bills, notes and bonds, and U.S. Government agency securities). In addition, promissory
notes can be called upon in the amount of $86.6 million, of which $56.6 million are in convertible
currencies. In accordance with the Agreement, demands by the Bank upon the promissory notes
of member countries payable in convertible currencies shall, over reasonable periods of time, be
uniform in percentage on all such notes or obligations. The remainder of the Bank's assets con-
sists of cash in banks and various other assets.
MEMBERSHIP AND SUBSCRIPTION OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The United States of America became a member of the Bank pursuant to the Asian Develop-
ment Bank Act of March 16, 1966 (Public Law 89-369, the text of which appears as Appendix 1).
The United States has subscribed to 20,000 shares of the capital stock of the Bank, thereby
becoming, together with Japan, one of the two largest stockholders. The Asian Development
Bank Act authorizes the appropriation of the entire $200 million United States subscription and
Congress has appropriated, without fiscal year limitations, the $100 million callable portion of the
United States subscription. No further appropriation is necessary to enable the Secretary of the
Treasury to pay this $100 million, if any part of it should ever be needed to meet obligations of the
Bank.
The U.S. Governor for the Bank is Henry H. Fowler, Secretary of the Treasury; the Alternate
Governor is William S. Gaud, Administrator, Agency for International Development; and the
U.S. Executive Director on the Bank's Board of Directors is Bernard Zagorin. The Federal
Reserve Bank of New York has been designated as a depository for the Bank's holdings.
Under the Asian Development Bank Act, the Bank's obligations are granted the same exemp-
tions from the Federal securities laws as have been granted to World Bank and Inter-American
Development Bank obligations under previous legislation. The Act also authorizes the Bank's
bonds for investment by national banks to the same extent as World Bank and Inter-American
Development Bank obligations.
BORROWING BY THE BANK
Provisions of the Agreement
In addition to the paid-in ordinary capital which is available for loan operations by the
Bank, the Bank is authorized by Article 21(i) of its Agreement to raise funds for its operations
through public bond issues and other borrowings in the world's capital markets. Before deter-
mining the sale of the Bank's obligations in a particular country, the Bank will consider the amount
of previous borrowing, if any, in that country as well as the amount of previous borrowing in
other countries and the availability of funds in such other countries. The Bank will attempt to
diversify its borrowings to the greatest extent possible as to country of borrowing. It will, in
this connection, bear in mind the general situation in the various capital markets, the balance
of payments position of the countries concerned, and the terms for borrowing in the various
markets.
Prior Approval by Member Country
Under the Agreement, the Bank must obtain the approval of the government of the conntry
in which the Bank's obligations are to be issued, as well as of the country in whose currency
such bonds are to be issued. As in the case of the World Bank and the Inter-American Develop-
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ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 121
inent Bank, any raising of funds by the Bank in the United States can only take place after express
authorization has been obtained from the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.
Limitation on Borrowing
The Board of Directors of the Bank, on January 11, 1968, adopted a policy according to
which the Bank will not enter into any new borrowing or guarantee chargeable to its ordinary
capital resources if such borrowing or such guarantee, when added to the aggregate amount
outstanding of borrowings and guarantees, would exceed the amount of the callable capital
stock of the member countries whose currencies are convertible. The convertible currency
countries will be determined by the Bank after consultation with the International Monetary
Fund. At the present time these countries are Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark,
Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United
Kingdom and the United States. The callable portion of the capital subscription of these
countries now amounts to $317.5 million. This policy will be incorporated in an appropriate
covenant with bondholders in any borrowing undertaken by the Bank.
Borrowing in the United States
In anticipation of bond issues which may be offered in the United States in the future, the
Bank has appointed Kuhn, Loeb & Co. and The First Boston Corporation as joint managing
underwriters for U. S. dollar bond issues in the United States. These firms will alternate in taking
the lead in the issues to be offered. Both of these underwriters have great experience in placing
obligations of international institutions as well as obligations of foreign governments and foreign
corporations.
In order to assure its obligations an appropriate market in the United States, the Bank with
the cooperation of the United States Treasury Department is seeking to obtain for its obligations
a status similar to that enjoyed by those of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development
Bank. Following the pattern set by these two institutions, the Bank expects to obtain the
necessary legislative and administrative authorizations in the various states so that its obliga-
tions can qualify as legal investments for institutional and fiduciary investors.
To make known the support of the United States Government, Secretary of the Treasury
Henry H. Fowler has addressed letters to the governors of various states (most of which have
legislative sessions in 1968). In his letters, Secretary Fowler points out that the activities of
the Bank coincide with the national interest of the United States and urges that appropriate steps
be taken so that institutional and fiduciary investors will have the same authority to purchase
the Bank's obligations as they now have to acquire obligations of the World Bank and Inter-
American Development Bank. A copy of the text of Secretary Fowler's letter appears on page 2.
Status with Respect to U.S. Interest Equalization Tax and Balance of Payments Measures
The obligations of the Bank come within the exemption provisions of the Interest Equalization
Tax for obligations of international institutions of which the United States is a member.
The 1968 "Guidelines for Nonbank Financial Institutions", issued by the Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System under the President's Balance of Payments Program, specifically
exclude bonds and notes of international institutions of which the United States is a member.
The President's Executive Order governing certain capital transfers abroad, issued January 1,
1968, and the regulations thereunder, have no application to the purchase of the Bank's obligations.
SEC Reports
By Regulation AD of December 18, 1967 (the text of which appears as Appendix 3), the
Securities and Exchange Commission has made the Bank subject to reporting and notice require-
ments with respect to its financial statements, annual reports and prospectuses, similar to those
applicable to the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
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PAGENO="0126"
122 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
OPERATIONS
Lending Activities
The Bank is authorized under the Agreement to make, participate in, or guarantee loans
to the governments of its member countries, to any of their agencies or political subdivisions and
to public or private enterprises operating within such countries, as well as to international or
regional entities concerned with economic development in the region. The Bank may provide
financing to such borrowers to cover foreign exchange expenditures incurred in any project and
may also provide local currencies in certain cases. The rate of interest, commitment fee and other
charges related to a loan or guarantee are determined by the Bank as may be appropriate for the
particular financing. Loan repayments are required to be made in the currency of the loan or,
at the option of the borrower, in gold or convertible currency. Except in special circumstances,
the Bank requires that proceeds of its loans be used by the borrower only for procurement of
goods and services produced in member countries. The Bank supervises the disbursement of its
loans to assure that the proceeds are applied only against project expenditures as incurred. It
generally insists that borrowers seek competitive bids from potential suppliers, that engineering
plans and specifications be drawn up independent of the suppliers, and, if appropriate, that
independent consulting engineers be retained by borrowers.
In evaluating the projects that it proposes to finance, the Bank considers such factors as
their economic, technical, and financial feasibility; their effect on the general activity of the country
concerned; their contribution to the removal of economic obstacles; the capacity of the borrowing
country to service additional external debt; the effect on domestic savings; the introduction of
new technologies to raise productivity; and the expansion of employment opportunities.
In considering an application for a loan or guarantee, the Bank pays due regard to the ability
of the borrower to obtain financing elsewhere on terms and conditions that the Bank considers
reasonable.
Ordinary Operations and Special Operations
The Bank's lending operations are divided into two major categories, ordinary and special.
Ordinary operations are those financed from the Bank's ordinary capital resources and are intended
to cover project expenditures under terms and conditions comparable to those that might be
required by other similar lenders. The first loan of the Bank, to the Industrial Finance Cor.
poration of Thailand, guaranteed by the Government of Thailand, was signed January 25, 1968.
The Bank at present has under active consideration a number of other loan applications.
Special operations, on the other hand, are financed from the Bank's Special Funds and are
designed to assist projects of high development priority which require loans of longer maturities,
longer deferred commencement of repayment, and lower interest rates than those established for
ordinary operations. The Bank may accept special contributions for these purposes or allocate
up to 10% of its "paid-in" capital as Special Funds. The allocation of such funds, however, is
conditional upon authorization by two-thirds of the total number of Governors. The Board of
Governors has not, as yet, taken action on this provision. The Agreement stipulates that Special
Funds of the Bank must be held, used, invested, or otherwise disposed of entirely separate from
the ordinary capital resources of the Bank.
Technical Assistance
The Bank is authorized to meet requests from member countries for technical assistance in
such fields as the preparation, financing and execution of development plans; the evaluation
of specific development projects and programs; and the creation of new institutions serving
agriculture, industry and public administration, among others. Recipients of technical assistance
may be governments or any of the other entities authorized to receive Bank loans.
The technical assistance extended by the Bank may be either on a grant or a loan basis. The
Agreement limits the funds available for technical assistance of a non-reimbursable nature to the
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PAGENO="0127"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 123
Bank's income (or during the Bank's first five years up to 2% of its paid-in capital) and to any
Special Funds resources received by the Bank for this purpose.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE BANK
The affairs of the Bank are conducted by the Board of Governors, the Board of Directors,
the President, the Vice President, the other officers and the staff.
All the powers of the Bank are vested in the Board of Governors but it may delegate to the
Board of Directors any powers except those whose delegation is specially prohibited by the
Agreement. The Board of Governors consists of one Governor and one Alternate appointed by
each member country. The Governor or Alternate Governor exercises the voting power to which
the member is entitled. The Board of Governors holds regular annual meetings.
The responsibility for the general direction of the operations of the Bank rests with its
Board of Directors who serve full time at the Bank's headquarters. The Board of Directors has
ten members and is elected by the Board of Governors. Seven Directors are elected by the
Governors representing regional members, and three by the Governors representing non-regional
members. Directors hold office for a term of two years and may be re-elected.
Matters before the Board of Governors or the Board of Directors relating to the ordinary
operations of the Bank are decided by a majority of the total voting power of the Bank's members,
except in certain cases provided in the Agreement in which a higher percentage is required.
The President is elected by the Board of Governors. His term of office is five years, and he
may be re-elected. The President is the Chairman of the Board of Directors, but has no vote
except a deciding vote in case of an equal division. Under the direction of the Board of Directors,
he conducts the ordinary business of the Bank and is its chief of staff. At its inaugural meeting
in Tokyo in November 1966, the Board of Governors unanimously elected Takeshi Watanabe,
Japanese financier, former senior government official, and former Executive Director of the World
Bank, as President of the Bank for a five-year term.
The Board of Directors
The following is a list of the Directors and Alternate Directors of the Bank and the member
countries by which they were appointed or elected:
Director/Alternate Countries
Helmut Abramowski Federal Republic of Germany, Austria
(Federal Republic of Germany) Belgium, Italy, Netherlands
Denis Forthomme
(Belgium)
Cornelio Balmaceda Philippines, Pakistan
(Philippines)
Zahiruddin Ahmed
(Pakistan)
Byung Kyu Chun Republic of Korea, Republic of Viet-Nam,
(Republic of Korea) Republic of China
Buu Hoan
(Republic of Viet-Nam)
Masaru Fukuda Japan
Shoshi Nakazawa
J. M. Garland Australia
F. R. Dalrymple
Byanti Kharmawan Indonesia, Ceylon, Afghanistan,
(Indonesia) Cambodia, Laos, Nepal
V. M. Peries
(Ceylon)
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124 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Director/Alternate Countries
Lim Taik Choon Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand,
(Malaysia) Singapore, Western Samoa
Chanchai Leetavorn
(Thailand)
P-V. R. Rao India
J. R. Hiremath
W. K. Wardroper Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark,
(Canada) Finland, Norway, Sweden
R. W. H. du Boulay
(United Kingdom)
Bernard Zagorin United States of America
Herman H. Barger
Principal Officers
The following is a list of the principal officers of the Bank:
Takeshi Watanabe President
C. S. Krishna Moorthi Vice President
Douglas C. Gunesekera Secretary
Timothy B. Atkeson General Counsel
Howard Farrelly Director,
Operations Department
Koji Suzuki Deputy Director
Sam-Chung Hsieh Director,
Economic and Technical
Assistance Department
George Rosen Deputy Director
Masao Fujioka Director,
Administration Department
Raymond B. Lyon Deputy Director
S. M. A. Kazmi Treasurer
Edgar Plan Deputy Treasurer and
Financial Advisor
P. S. Hariharan Chief Information Officer
Carl J. Lemvig-Fog Internal Auditor
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR
The Board of Directors of the Bank has appointed Haskins & Sells of New York, New York
as auditors. The certificate of Haskins & Sells will appear on the annual financial statements
of the Bank and any other audited statements that may be required.
THE AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
The Agreement Establishing the Asian Development Bank constitutes the Bank's governing
charter. It establishes the status, privileges and immunities of the Bank, prescribes the Bank's
purposes, capital structure and organization, authorizes the operations in which it may engage
and prescribes limitations on the carrying on of those operations. It also contains, among other
things, provisions with respect to the admission of additional members, the increase of the author-
ized capital stock of the Bank, the terms and conditions under which the Bank may make or
guarantee loans, the use of currencies held by the Bank, the withdrawal and suspension of members
and the suspension of operations of the Bank. The full text of the Agreement is reproduced
as Appendix 2.
10
PAGENO="0129"
AN ACT To provide for the participation of the United
States in the Asian Development Bank
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That this Act may he cited as the "Asian
Development Bank Act".
ACCEPTANCE OF MEMBERSHIP
SEC. 2. The President is hereby authorized to accept
membership for the United States in the Asian Develop-
ment Bank (hereinafter referred to as the "Bank")
provided for by the agreement establishing the Bank (here-
inafter referred to as the "agreement") deposited in the
archives of the United Nations.
SEC. 3. (a) The President, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, shall appoint a Governor of the
Bank, an alternate for the Governor, and a Director of
the Bank.
(b) No person shall be entitled to receive any salary
or other compensation from the United States for services
as a Governor or Alternate Governor. The Director may,
in the discretion of the President, receive such csmpensa-
tion, allowances, and other benefits as, together with those
received by him from the Bank, will equal those authorized
for a Chief of Mission, class 2, within the meaning of the
Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended.
SEC. 4. (a) The policies and operations of the repre-
sentatives of the United States on the Bank shall be coor-
dinated with other United States policies in such manner
as the President shall direct.
(b) An annual report with respect to United States
participatisn in the Bank shall be submitted to the Congress
by such agency or officer as the President shall designate.
SEC. 5. Unless the Congress by law authorizes such
action, neither the President nor any person or agency
shall, on behalf of the United States, (a) subscribe to addi-
tional shares of stock of the Bank; (b) vote for or agree
to any amendment of the agreement which increases the
obligations of the United States, or which would change
the purpose or functions of the Bank; or (c) make a loan
or provide other financing to the Bank, except that funds
for technical assistance not to exceed $1,000,000 in any one
year may be provided to the Bank by a United States
agency created pursuant to an Act of Congress which
is authorized by law to provide funds to international
organizations.
DEPOSITORIES
SEC. 6. Any Federal Reserve bank which is requested
to do so by the Bank shall act as its depository or as its
fiscal agent, and the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System shall supervise and direct the carrying out
of these functions by the Federal Reserve banks.
PAYMENT OF SUBSCRIPTIONS
SEC. 7. (a) There is hereby authorized to be appro-
priated, without fiscal year limitation, for the purchase of
twenty thousand shares of capital stock of the Bank,
$200,000,000.
(b) Any payment made to the United States by the
Bank as a distribution of net income shall be covered into
the Treasury as a miscellaneous receipt.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE OP ACTIONS
SEC. 8. For the purpose of any civil action which may
be brought within the United States, its territories or pos-
sessions, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, by or
11
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 125
Appendix 1
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT
Text of Public Law 89-369, 89th Congress, approved March 16, 1966
against the Bank in accordance with the agreement, the
Bank shall be deemed to be an inhabitant of the Federal
judicial district in which its principal office or agency in
the United States is located, and any such action to
which the Bank shall be a party shall be deemed to
arise under the laws of the United States, and the district
Courts of the United States, including the courts enumer-
ated in title 28, section 460, United States Code, shall
have original jurisdiction of any such action. When the
Bank is a defendant in any action in a State court, it may.
at any time before the trial thereof, remove such action
into the district court of the United States for the proper
district by following the procedure for removal of causes
otherwise provided by law.
STATUS, IMMUNITIES, AND PRIVILEGES
Sicc. 9. The agreement, and particularly articles 49
through 56, shall have full force and effect in the United
States, its territories and possessions, and the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico, upon acceptance of membership by
the United States in, and the establishment of, the Bank.
The President, at the time of deposit of the instrument of
acceptance of membership by the United States in She
Bank, shall also deposit a declaration that the United
States retains for itself and its political subdivisions the
right to tax salaries and emoluments paid by the Bank
to its citizens or nationals.
SECURITIES IS5UED BY BANK AS INVESTMENT SECURITIES FOR
NATIONAL BANKS
SEC. 10. The last sentence of paragraph 7 of section
5136 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (12 U.S.C. 24),
is amended by striking the word "or" after the words
"International Bank for Reconstruction and Development"
and inserting a comma in lieu thereof, and by inserting
after the words "the Inter-American Development Bank"
the words "or the Asian Development Bank".
SECURITIES ISSUED BY BANK AS EXEMPT SECUS5ITIES;
REPORT FILED WITH SECURITIES AND
EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SEC. 11. (a) Any securities issued by the Bank (in-
cluding any guarantee by the Bank, whether or not limited
in scope) in connection with raising of funds for inclusion
in the Bank's ordinary capital resources as defined in
article 7 of the agreement and any securities guaranteed
by the Bank as to both principal and interest to which the
commitment in article 6, section 5, of the agreement is
expressly applicable, shall be deemed to be exempted
securities within the meaning of paragraph (a) (2) of sec-
tion 3 of the Act of May 27, 1933, as amended (15 U.S.C.
77c), and paragraph (a) (12) of section 3 of the Act of
June 6, 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78c). The Bank shall
61e with the Securities and Exchange Commission such
annual and other reports with regard to such securities as
the Commission shall determine to be appropriate in view
of the special character of the Bank and its operations and
necessary in the public interest or for the protection of
investors.
(b) The Securities and Exchange Commission, acting
in consultation with such agency or officer as the President
shall designate, is authorized to suspend the provisions of
subsection (a) at any time as to any or all Securities issued
or guaranteed by the Bank during the period of such
Suspension. The Commission shall include in its annual
reports to Congress such information as it shall deem
advisable with regard to the operations and effect of this
section and in connection therewith shall include any views
submitted for such purpose by any association of dealers
registered with the Commission.
90-614 O-68----9
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126 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Appendix 2
AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
THE CONTRACTING PARTIES (iv) to provide technical assistance for the preparation,
financing and execution of development projects
CONSIDERING the importance of closer econo~nic and programmes, including the formulation of spe-
co-operation as a means for achieving the most efflciei~t cific project proposals;
utilization of resources and for accelerating the economic
development of Asia and the Far East; (v) to co-operate, in such manner as the Bank may
deem appropriate, within the terms of this Agree-
REALIZING the significance of making additional ment, with the United Nations, its organs and sub-
development financing available for the region by mobi- sidiary bodies including, in particular, the Econom-
lizing such funds and other resources from within and ic Commission for Asia and the Far East, and with
outside the region, and by seeking to create and foster public international organizations and other inter-
conditions conducive to increased domestic savings and national institutions, as well as national entities
greater flow of development funds into the region; whether public or private, which are concerned
with the investment of development funds in the
RECOGNIZING the desirability of promoting the bar- region, and to interest such institutions and en-
monious growth of the economies of the region and the tities in new opportunities for investment and
expansion of external trade of member countries; assistance; and
CONVINCED that the establishment of a financial (vi) to undertake such other activities and provide such
institution that is Asian in its basic character would serve other services as may advance its purpose.
these ends;
HAVE AGREED to establish hereby the Asian Devel- Art cle 3
opment Bank (hereinafter called the "Bank") which shall
operate in accordance with the following
1. Membership in the Bank shall be open to: (i) mem-
bers and associate members of the United Nations Eco-
ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT nomic Commission for Asia and the Far East; and (ii)
other regional countries and non-regional developed coun-
Cii I tries which are members of the United Nations or of any
PURPOSE, FUNCTIONS AND MEMBERSHIP of its specialized agencies.
2. Countries eligible for membership under paragraph
1 of this Article which do not become members in accord-
Article 1 ance with Article 64 of this Agreement may be admitted,
PURPOSE under such terms and conditions as the Bank may deter-
The purpose of the Bank shall be to foster economic nire, to membership in the Bank upon the affirmative vote
and the Far senting not less than three-fourths of the total' vo~ing
tribute to the acceleration of the process of economic de- p 0 5.
velopment of the developing member countries in the 3. In the case of associate members of the United Na-
region, collectively and individually. Wherever used in tions Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East
this Agreement, the terms "region of Asia and the Far which are not responsible for the conduct of their inter-
East" and "region" shall comprise the territories of Asia national relations, application for membership in the Bank
and the Far East included in the Terms of Refere~ice of shall be presented by the member of the Bank responsible
the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and for the international relations of the applicant and accom-
the Fsr East. panied by an undertaking by such member that, until the
Article 2 applicant itself assumes such responsibility, the member
FTTNC TO shall be responsible for all obligations that may be incurred
by the applicant by reason of admission to membership in
To fulfil its purpose, the Bank shall have the following the Bank and enjoyment of the benefits of such member-
functions: ship. Country as used in this Agreement shall include
(i) to promote investment in the region of public and a territory which is an associate member of the United
private capital for development purposes; Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East,
(ii) to utilize the resources at its disposal for financing
development of the developing member countries in
the region, giving priority to those regional, sub- HATTER
regional as well as national projects and pro- CAPITAL
grammes which will contribute most effectively to
the harmonious economic growth of the region as a Article 4
whole, and having special regard to the needs of AUTHORIZED CAPITAL
the smaller or less developed member countries in
the region; 1. The authorized capital stock of the Bank shall
(iii) to meet requests from members in the region to be one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) in terms of
assist them in the co-ordination of their develop- United States dollars of the weight and fineness in effect
ment policies and plans with a view to achieving on 31 January 1966. The dollar wherever referred to
better utilization of their resources, making their in this Agreement shall be understood as being a
economies more complementary, and promoting the United States dollar of the above value. The authorized
orderly expansion of their foreign trade, in par- capital stock shall be divided into one hundred thousand
ticular, intra-regional trade; (100,000) shares having a par value of ten thousand
12
PAGENO="0131"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 127
dollars ($10,000) each, which shall be available for sub-
scription only by members in accordance with the provi-
sions of Article 5 of this Agreement.
2. The original authorized capital stock shall be divided
into paid-in snares and callable shares. Shares having an
aggregate par value of five hundred million dollars
($500,000,000) shall be paid-in shares, and shares having
an aggregate par value of five hundred million dollars
($500,000,000) shall be callable shares.
3. The authorized capital stock of the Bank may be
increased by the Board of Governors, at such time and
under such terms and conditions as it may deem advisable,
by a vote of two-thirds of the total number of Governors,
representing not less than three-fourthsof the total voting
power of the members.
Article 5
SUBSCRIPTION OF SHARES
1. Each member shall subscribe to shares of the capital
stock of the Bank. Each subscription to the original
autnorized capital stock shall be for paid-in shares and
callable shares in equal parts. The initial number of shares
to be subscribed by countries which become members in
accordance with Article 64 of this Agreement shall be
that set forth in Annex A hereof. The initial number of
shares to be subscribed by countries which are admitted to
membership in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 3
of this Agreement shall be determined by the Board of
Governors; provided, however, that no such subscription
shall be authorized which would have the effect of reduc-
ing the percentage of capital stock held by regional mem-
bers below sixty (60) per cent of the total subscribed
capital stock.
2. The Board of Governors shall at intervals of not less
than five (5) years review the capital stock of the Bank.
In case of an increase in the authorized capital stock,
each member shall have a reasonable opportunity to sub-
scribe, under such terms and conditions as the Board of
Governors shall determine, to a proportion of the increase
of stock equivalent to the proportion which its stock
theretofore subscribed bears to the total subscribed capital
stock immediately prior to such increase; provided, how-
ever, that the horegoing provision shall not apply in respect
of any increase or portion of an increase in the authorized
capital stock intended solely to give effect to determina-
tions of the Board of Governors under paragraphs 1 and 3
of this Article. No member shall be obligated to subscribe
to any part of an increase of capital stock.
3. The Board of Governors may, at the request of a
member, increase the subscription of such member on such
terms and conditions as the Board may determine; pro-
vided, however, that no such increase in the subscription
of any member shall be authorized which would have the
effect of reducing the percentage of capital stock held by
regional members below sixty (60) per cent of the total
subscribed capital stock. The Board of Governors shall
pay special regard to the request of any regional member
having less than six (6) per cent of the subscribed capital
stock to increase its proportionate share thereof.
4. Shares of stock initially subscribed by members
shall be issued at par. Other shares shall be issued at par
unless the Board of Governors by a vote of a majority of
the total number of Governors, representing a majority
of the total voting power of the members, decides in spe-
cial circumstances to issue them on other terms,
5. Shares of stock shall not be pledged or encumbered
in any manner whatsoever, and they shall not be trans-
ferable except to the Bank in accordance with Chapter VII
of this Agreement.
6. The liability of the members on shares shall be
limited to the unpaid portion of their issue price.
7. No member shall be liable, by reason of its member-
ship, for obligations of the Bank.
Article 6
PAYMENT OF SUBSCRIPTIONS
1. Payment of the amount initially subscribed by
each Signatory to this Agreement which becomes ,a
member in accordance with Article 64 to the paid-in
capital stock of the Bank shall be made in five (5)
instalments, of twenty (20) per cent each of such amount.
The first instalment shall be paid by each member within
thirty (30) days after entry into force of this Agreement,
or on or before the date of deposit on its behalf of its
instrument of ratification or acceptance in accordance
with paragraph 1 of Article 64, whichever is later. The
second instalment shall become due one (1) year from
the entry into force of this Agreement. The remaining
three (3) instalments shall each become due successively
one (1) year from the date on which the preceding
instalment becomes due.
2. Of each instalment for the payment of initial sub-
scriptions to the original paid-in capital stock:
(a) Fifty (50) per cent shall be paid in gold or con-
vertible currency; and
(b) Fifty (50) per cent in the currency of the member.
3. The Bank shall accept from any member promis-
sory notes or other obligations issued by the Government
of the member, or by the depository designated by such
member, in lieu of the amount to be paid in the currency
of the member pursuant to paragraph 2 (b) of this Article,
provided such currency is not required by the Bank for
the conduct of its operations. Such notes or obligations
shall be non-negotiable, non-interest-bearing, and pay-
able to the Bank at par value.upon demand. Subject to
the provisions of paragraph 2 (ii) of Article 24, demands
upon such notes or obligations payable in convertible
currencies shall, over reasonable periods of time, be uni-
form in percentage on all such notes or obligations.
4. Each payment of a member in its own currency
under paragraph 2 (b) of this Article shall be in such
amount as the Bank, after such consultation with the
International Monetary Fund as the Bank may consider
necessary and utilizing the par value established with
the International Monetary Fund, if any, determines to
be equivalent to the full value in terms of dollars of the
portion of the subscription being paid. The initial pay-
ment shall be in such amount as the member considers
appropriate hereunder but shall be subject to such adjust-
ment, to be effected within ninety (90) days of the date
on which such payment was due, as the Bank shall deter-
mine to be necessary to constitute the full dollar equiva-
lent of such payment.
5. Payment of the amount subscribed to the callable
capital stock of the Bank shall be subject to call only
as and when required by the Bank to meet its obligations
incurred under sub-paragraphs (ii) and (iv) of Article Li
on borrowings of funds for inclusion in its ordinary
capital resources or on guarantees chargeable to such
resources.
6. In the event of the call referred to in paragraph 5
of this Article, payment may be made at the option of
the member in gold, convertible currency or in the cur-
rency required to discharge the obligations of the Bank
or the purpose of which she call is made. Calls on unpaid
subscriptions shall be uniform in percentage on all callable
shares.
7. The Bank shall determine the place for any pay-
ment under this Article, provided that, until the inaugural
meeting of its Board of Governors, the payment of the
first instalment referred to in paragraph I of this Article
shall be made to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, as Trustee for the Bank.
13
PAGENO="0132"
128 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Article 7
ORDINARY CAPITAL RESOURCES
As used in this Agreement, the term "ordinary capital
resources" of the Bank shall include the following:
(i) authorized capital stock of the Bank, including
both paid-in and callable shares, subscribed pursu-
ant to Article 5 of this Agreement, except such
part thereof ao may be set aside into one or more
Special Funds in accordance with paragraph 1(i)
of Article 19 of this Agreement;
(ii) funds raised by borrowings of the Bank by virtue
of powers conferred by sub-paragraph (i) of Article
21 of this Agreement, to which the commitment to
calls provided for in paragraph 5 of Article 6 of
this Agreement is applicable;
(iii) funds received in repayment of loans or guarantees
made with the resources indicated in (i) and (ii)
of this Article;
(iv) income derived from loans made from the afore-
mentioned funds or from guarantees to which the
commitment to calls set forth in paragraph 5 of
Article 6 of this Agreement is applicable; and
(v) any other funds or income received by the Bank
which do not form part of its Special Funds re-
sources referred to in Article 20 of this Agreement.
CHAPTER III
OPERATIONS
Article 8
USE OF RESOURCES
The resources and facilities of the Bank shall be used
exclusively to implement the purpose and functions set
forth respectively in Articles 1 and 2 of this Agreement.
Article 9
ORDINARY AND SPECIAL OPERATIONS
1. The operations of the Bank shall consist of ordinary
operations and special operations.
2. Ordinary operations shall be those financed from the
ordinary capital resources of the Bank.
3. Special operations shall be those financed from the
Special Funds resources referred to in Article 20 of this
Agreement.
Article 10
SEPARATION OF OPERATIONS
1. The ordinary capital resources and the Special Funds
resources of the Bank shall at all times and in all respects
be held, used, committed, invested or otherwise disposed
of entirely separate from each other. The financial state-
ments of the Bank shall show the ordinary operations and
special operations separately.
2. The ordinary capital resources of the Bank shall
under no circumstances be charged with, or used to dis-
charge, losses or liabilities arising out of special operations
or other activities for which Special Funds resources were
originally used or committed.
.3. Expenses appertaining directly to ordinary opera-
tions shall be charged to the ordinary capital resources of
the Bank. Expenses appertaining directly to special opera-
tions shall be charged to the Special Funds resources.
Any other expenses shall be charged as the Bank shall
determine.
Articlell
RECIPIENTS AND METHODS
OF OPERATION
Subject to the conditions stipulated in this Agreement,
the Bank may provide or facilitate financing to any mem-
ber, or any agency, instrumentality or political subdivision
thereof, or any entity or enterprise operating in the terri-
tory of a member, as well as to international or regional
agencies or entities concerned with economic development
of the region. The Bank may carry out its operations in
any of the following ways:
(i) by making or participating in direct loans with its
unimpaired paid-in capital and, except as provided
in Article 17 of this Agreement, with its reserves
and undistributed surplus; or with the unimpaired
Special Funds resources;
(ii) by making or participating in direct loans with
funds raised by the Bank in capital markets or
borrowed or otherwise acquired by the Bank for
inclusion in its ordinary capital resources;
(iii) by investment of funds referred to in (i) and (ii)
of this Article in the equity capital of an institution
or enterprise, provided no such investment shall be
made until after the Board of Governors, by a vote
of a majority of the total number of Governors,
representing a majority of the total voting power
of the members, shall have determined that the
Bank is in a position to commence such type of
operations; or
(iv) by guaranteeing, whether as primary or secondary
obligor, in whole or in part, loans for economic
development participated in by the Bank.
Article 12
LIMITATIONS ON ORDINARY OPERATIONS
1. The total amount outstanding of loans, equity invest-
ments and guarantees made by the Bank in its ordinary
operations shall not at any time exceed the total amount
of its unimpaired subscribed capital, reserves and surplus
included in its ordinary capital resources, exclusive of the
special reserve provided for by Article 17 of this Agree-
ment and other reserves not available for ordinary
operations.
2. In the case of loans made with funds borrowed
by the Bank to which the commitment to calls provided
for by paragraph 5 of Article 6 of this Agreement is
applicable, the total amount of principal outstanding and
payable to the Bank in a specific currency shall not at any
time exceed the total amount of the principal of outstand-
ing borrowings by the Bank that are payable in the same
currency.
3. In the case of funds invested in equity capital out of
the ordinary capital resources of the Bank, the total
amount invested shall not exceed ten (10) per cent of the
aggregate amount of the unimpaired paid-in capital stock
of the Bank actually paid up at any given time together
with the reserves and surplus included in its ordinary
capital resources, exclusive of the special reserve provided
for in Article 17 of this Agreement.
4. The amount of any equity investment shall not
exceed such percentage of the equity capital of the entity
or enterprise concerned as the Board of Directors shall in
each specific case determine to be appropriate. The Bank
shall not seek to obtain by such an investment a controlling
interest in the entity or enterprise concerned, except where
necessary to safeguard the investment of the Bank.
Article 13
PROVISION OF CURRENCIES
FOR DIRECT LOANS
In making direct loans or participating in them, the
Bank may provide financing in any of the following ways:
14
PAGENO="0133"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 129
(i) by furnishing the borrower with currencies other
than the currency of the member in whose territory
the project concerned is to be carried out (the
latter currency hereinafter to be called "local cur-
rency"), which are necessary to meet the foreign
exchange costs of such project; or
(ii) by providing fInancing to meet local expenditures
on the project concerned, where it can do so by
supplying local currency without selling any of its
holdings in gold or convertible currencies. In spe-
cial cases when, in the opinion of the Bank, the
project causes or is likely to cause undue loss or
strain on the balance of payments of the member in
whose territory the project is to be carried out,
the financing granted by the Bank to meet local
expenditures may be provided in currencies other
than that of such meniber; in such cases, the
amount of the financing granted by the Bank for
this purpose shall not exceed a reasonable portion
of the total local expenditure incurred by the
borrower.
Article 14
OPERATING PRINCIPLES
The operations of the Bank shall be conducted in
accordance with the following principles:
(i) The operations of the Bank shall provide princi-
pally for the financing of specific projects, includ-
ing those forming part of a national, sub-regional
or regional development programme. They may,
however, include loans to, or guarantees of loans
made to, national development banks or other suit-
able entities, in order that the latter may finance
specific development projects whose individual
financing requirements are not, in the opinion of the
Bank, large enough to warrant the direct super-
vision of the Bank;
(ii) In selecting suitable projects, the Bank shall
always be guided by the provisions of sub-para-
graph (ii) of Article 2 of this Agreement;
(iii) The bank shall not finance any undertaking in the
territory of a member if that member objects to
such financing;
(iv) Before a loan is granted, the applicant shall have
submitted an adequate loan proposal and the Presi-
dent of the Bank shall have presented to the Board
of Directors a written report regarding the pro-
esosal, together with his recommendations, on the
basis of a staff study;
(v) In considering an application for a loan or guaran-
tee, the Bank shall pay due regard to the ability
of the borrower to obtain financing or facilities
elsewhere on terms and conditions that the Bank
considers reasonable for the recipient, taking into
account all pertinent factors;
(vi) In making or guaranteeing a loan, the Bank shall
pay due regard to the prospects that the borrower
and its guarantor, if any, will be in a position to
meet their obligations under the loan contract
(vii) In making or guaranteeing a loan, the rate of
interest, other charges and the schedule for repay-
ment of principal shall be such as are, in the
opinion of the Bank, appropriate for the loan con-
cerned;
(viii) In guaranteeing a loan made by other investors,
or in underwriting the sale of securities, the Bank
shall receive suitable compensation for its risk;
(ix) The proceeds of any loan, investment or other
financing undertaken in the ordinary operations of
the Bank or with Special Funds established by the
Bank pursuant to paragraph 1 (i) of Article 19,
shall be used only for procurement in member
countries of goods and services produced in mem-
ber countries, except in any ease in which the
Board of Directors, by a vote of the Directors
representing not less than two-thirds of the total
voting power of the members, determines to permit
procurement in a non-member country or of goods
and services produced in a non-member country in
special circumstances making such procurement
appropriate, as in the case of a non-member coun-
try in which a significant amount of financing has
been provided to the Bank;
(x) In the case of a direct loan made by the Bank,
the borrower shall be permitted by the Bank to
draw its funds only to meet expenditures in con-
nexion with the project as they are actually
incurred;
(xi) The Bank shall take the necessary measures to
ensure that the proceeds of any loan made, guaran-
teed or participated in by the Bank are used only
for the purposes for which the loan was granted
and with due attention to considerations of econo-
my and efficiency;
(xii) The Bank shall pay due regard to the desirability
of avoiding a disproportionate amount of its re-
sources being used for the benefit of any member;
(xiii) The Bank shall seek to maintain reasonable diver-
sification in its investments in equity capital; it
shall not assume responsibility for managing any
entity or enterprise in which it has an investment,
except where necessary to oafeguard its invest-
ments; and
(xiv) The Bank shall be guided by sound banking prin-
ciples in its operations.
Article 15
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR DIRECT
LOANS AND GUARANTEES
1. In the case of direct loans made or participated in
or loans guaranteed by the Bank, the contract shall estab-
lish, in conformity with the operating principles set forth
in Article 14 of this Agreement and subject to the other
provisions of this Agreement, the terms and conditions
for the loan or the guarantee concerned, including those
relating to payment of principal, interest and other
charges, maturities, and dates of payment in respect of
the loan, or the fees and other charges in respect of the
guarantee, respectively. In particular, the contract shall
provide that, subject to paragraph 3 of this Article, all
payments to the Bank under the contract shall be made
in the currency loaned, unless, in the case of a direct
loan made or a loan guaranteed as part of special opera-
tions with funds provided under paragraph 1 (ii) of
Article 19, the rules and regulations of the Bank provide
otherwise. Guarantees by the Bank shall also provide that
the Bank may terminate its liability with respect to
interest if, upon default by the borrower and the guar-
antor, if any, the Bank offers to purchase, at par and
interest accrued to a date designated in the offer, the
bonds or other obligations guaranteed.
2. Where the recipient of loans or guarantees of loans
is not itself a member, the Bank may, when it deems
it advisable, require that the member in whose territory
the project concerned is to be carried out, or a public
agency or any instrumentality of that member acceptable
to the Bank, guarantee the repayment of the principal
and the payment of interest and other charges on the
loan in accordance with the terms thereof.
3. The Isan or guarantee contract shall expressly state
the currency in which all payments to the Bank there-
under shall be made, At the option of the borrower, how-
ever, such payments may always be made in gold or
convertible currency.
15
PAGENO="0134"
130 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Article 16 (ii) to repurchase, or otherwise discharge, the Bank's
COMMISSION AND FEES liability on all or part of its own outstanding
borrowing.
*~ The Bank shall charge in addition to interest, a corn- 5. If the Bank's subscribed callable capital stock shall
mission sn direct loans made or participated in as part of be entirely called pursuant to paragraphs 3 and 4 of this
its ordinary operations. This commission, payable i~eriod- Article the Bank may, if necessary for the purposes spe-
ically, shall be computed on the amount outstanding on cified in paragraph 3 of this Article, use or exchange the
each loan or participation and shall be at the rate of not currency of any member without restriction, including any
less than one (1) per cent per annum, unless the Bank, restriction imposed pursuant to paragraphs 2 (i) and (ii)
after the first five (5) years of its operations, decides to of A tile 24
reduce this minimum rate by a two-thirds majority of
its members, representing not less than three-fourths of Artscle 19
the total voting power of the members. SPECIAL FUNDS
2. In guaranteeing a loan as part of its ordinary opera- 1. The BaIik may:
tions, the Bank shall charge a guarantee fee, at a rate (i) set aside, by a vole of two-thirds of the total num-
determined by the Board of Directors, payable periodically her of Governors, representing at least three-fourths
on the amount of the loan outstanding. of the total voting power of the members, not more
3. Other charges of the Bank in its ordinary opera- than ten (10) per cent each of the portion of the
tions and any commission fees or other charges in its unimpaired paid-in capital of the Bank paid, by
special operations shall be determined by the Board of members pursuant to paragraph 2 (a) of Article
D 6 and of the portion thereof paid pursuant to para-
graph 2 (b) of Article 6, and establish therewith
A l 17 one or more Special Funds;
rt c e (ii) accept the administration of Special Funds which
SPECIAL RESERVE are designed to serve the purpose and conie with-
in the functions of the Bank.
The amount of commissions and guarantee fees received
by the Bank pursuant to Article 16 of this Agreement 2. Special Funds established by the Bank pursuant to
shall be set aside as a special reserve which shall be kept paragraph 1 (i) of this Article may be used to guarantee
for meeting liabilities of the Bank in accordance with or make loans of high developmental priority, with longer
Article 18 of this Agreement. The special reserve shall maturities, longer deferred commciiCeIiicflt of repayment
he held iIi such liquid form as the Board of Directors may and lower interest rates than those established by the Bank
decide, for its ordinary operations. Such Funds may also be used
on such other terms and conditions, not inconsistent with
Article 18 the applicable prsvisions cf this Agreement nor with the
METHODS OF MEETING LIABILITIES OF character of such Funds as revolving funds, as the Bank
THE BANK in establishing such Funds may direct.
3. Special Funds accepted by the Bank under paragraph
I. In cases of default on loans made, participated in or 1 (ii) of this Article may be used in any manner and on
guaranteed by the Bank in its, ordinary operations, the any terms and conditions not inconsistent with the purpose
Bank shall take such action as it deenss appropriate with of the Bank and with the agreement relating to such
respect to modifying the terms of the loan, other than the Funds.
currency of repayment. 4. The Bank shall adopt such special rules and regula-
2 Tire payments in discharge of the Bank's liabilities tions as may i)e required for the establishment, adminis-
on borrowings or guarantees under sub-paragraphs (ii) tration and use of each Special Fund. Such rules and
and (iv) of Article 11 c!iargcabe to the ordinary capital regulations shall be consistent with the provisions of this
resources shall be charged: Agreement, excepting those provisions e'epressly applica-
ble only to or(linary operations of the Bank.
(I) First, against the special reserve provided for in
Article 17;
of the Bank, against the other reserves, surplus and SPECIAL FUNDS 2~ESOURCES
capital available to tire Bank. As uSed in this Agreement, the term "Special Funds
resources" shall refer to the resources of any Special
3. Whenever necessary to meet contractual payments Fund and shall include:
of interest, other charges or amortization on borrowings (a) resources set aside from the paid-in capital to a
of the Bank in its ordinary operations, or to meet its ha- 5l~ecial Fund or otherwise initially contributed to
bihities with respect to similar payments in respect of loans any Special Fund;
guaranteed by it, chargeable to its ordinary capital re-
sources, the Bank may call an appropriate amount of the (b) funds accepted by the Bank for inclusion in any
uncalled subscribed callable capital in accordance with Special Fund;
paragraphs 6 and 7 of Article 6 of this Agreement. (c) funds repaid in respect of loans or guarantees
financed from the resources of any Special Fund
4. In cases of default in respect of a loan made from which, under the rules and regulations of the Bank
borrowed funds or guaranteed by the Bank as part of its governing that Special Fund, are received by such
ordinary operations, the Bank may, if it believes that the Special Fund;
default may be of long duration, call an additional amount (d) income derived from operations of the Bank in
of such callable capital not to exceed in any one (1) year which any of the aforenientioned resources or funds
one (1) per cent of the total subscriptions of the members are used or committed if, under the rules and
to such capital, for the following purposes: regulations of the Bank governing the Special Fund
(i) To redeem before maturity, or otherwise discharge, concerned, that income accrues to such Special
the Bank's liability on all or part of the outstanding Fund; and
principal of any loan guaranteed by it in respect of (e) any other resources placed at the disposal of any
which the debtor is in default; and Special Fund.
16
PAGENO="0135"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 131
CHAPTER IV
BORROWING AND OTHER
MISCELLANEOUS POWERS
Article 21
GENERAL POWERS
In addition to the powers specified elsewhere in this
Agreement, the Bank shall have the power to:
(i) borrow funds in member countries or elsewhere,
and in this connexion to furnish suds collateral or
other security therefor as the Bank shall determine,
provided always that:
(a) before making a sale of its obligations in the
terrstory of a country, the Bank shall have
obtaiiied its approval;
(b) where the obligations of tlse Bank are to be
denominated in the currency of a member, the
Bank, shall have obtained its approval;
(c) the Bank shall obtain the approval of the
countries referred to in sub-paragraphs (a)
and (b) of this paragraph that toe proceeds
may be exchanged for the currency of any
member without restriction; and
(d) before determining to sell its obligations in a
particular country, the Bank shall consider
the ansount of previous borrowing, if any, in
that country, the amount of previous borrow-
ing in other countries, and the possible avail-
ability of funds in such other countries; and
shall give due regard to the general principle
that its borrowings should to the greatest ex-
tent possible be diversified as to country of
borrowing.
(ii) buy and sell securities the Bank isas issued or
guaranteed or in which it has invested, provided
always that it shall have obtained the approval of
any country in whose territory the securities are to
be bought or sold;
(iii) guarantee securities in which it has invested
in order to facilitate their sale;
(lv) underwrite, or participate in the underwriting of,
securities issued by an entity or enterprise for
purposes consistent with the purpose of the Bank;
(v) invest funds, not needed in its operations, in the
territories of members in such obligations of mem-
bers or nationals thereof as it may deterInine, and
invest funds held by the Bank for pensions or
similar purposes in the territories of members in
marketable securities issued by members or
nationals thereof;
(vi) provide technical advice and assistance which serve
its purpose and come within its functions, and
where expenditures incurred in furnishing such
services are not reimbursable, charge the net in-
come of the Bank therewith; in the first five (5)
years of its operations, the Bank may use up to
two (2) per cent of its paid-in capital for fur-
nishing such services on a non-reimbursable
basis; and
(vii) exercise such other powers and establish such
rules and regulations as may be necessary or ap-
propriate in furtherance of its purpose and func-
tions, consistent with the provisions of tisis Agree-
ment.
Article 22
NOTICE TO BE PLACED ON SECURITIES
Every security issued or guaranteed by the Bank shall
bear on its face a conspicuous statement to tise effect that
it is not an obligation of any Governnsent, unless it is in
fact the obligation of a particular Government, in which
case it shall so state.
CHAPTER V
CURRENCIES
Article 23
DETERMINATION OF CONVERTIBILITY
Whenever it shall become necessary under this Agree-
snent to determine whether any currency is convertible,
such determination shall be made by the Bank after con-
sultation with the International Monetary Fund.
Article 24
USE OF CURRENCIES
1. Members may not maintain or impose any restric-
tions on the holding or use by the Bank or by any recipient
from the Bank, for payments in any country, of the follow-
ing:
(i) gold or convertible currencies received by the Bank
in payment of subscriptions to its capital stock,
other than that paid to the Bank by members pur-
suant to paragraph 2 (b) of Article 6 and restrict-
ed pursuant to paragraphs 2 (i) and (ii) of this
Article;
(ii) currencies of members purchased with the gold or
convertible currencies referred to in the preceding
sub-paragraph;
(iii) currencies obtained by the Bank by borrowing, pur-
suant to sub-paragraph (i) of Article 21 of this
Agreement, for inclusion in its ordinary capital
resources;
(iv) gold or currencies received by the Bank in payment
on accouiit of principal, interest, dividends or other
charges in respect of loans or investments made out
of any of the funds referred to in sub-paragraphs
(i) to (iii) of this paragraph or in payment of
fees in respect of guarantees made by the Bank; and
(v) currencies, other than the member's own currency,
received by the member from the Bank in distribu-
tion of the net income of the Bank in accordance
with Article 40 of this Agreement.
2. Members may not maintain or inipose any restriction
on the holding or use by tlse Bank or by aisy recipient from
tile Bank, for payments in any country, of currency of a
member received by the Bank which does not come within
the provisions of the preceding paragraph, unless:
(i) a developing member country, after consultation
with anu subject to periodic review by the Bank,
restricts in whole or in part the use of such cur-
rency to payments for goods or services produced
and intended for use in its territory; or
(ii) any other member whose subscription has been de-
termined in Part A of Annex A hereof and whose
exports of industrial products do not represent a
substantial proportion of its total exports, deposits
with its instrument of ratification or acceptance a
declaration that it desires the use of the portion of
its subscription paid pursuant to paragraph 2 (b)
of Article 6 to be restricted, in whole or in part,
to payments for goods or services produced in its
territory; provided that such restrictions be subject
to periodic review by and consultation with the
Bank and that any purchases of goods or services
in the territory of that member, subject to the usual
consideration of competitive tendering, shall be first
charged against the portion of its subscription paid
pursuant to paragraph 2 (b) of Article 6; or
(iii) such currency forms part of the Special Funds re-
sources of the Bank available under paragraph 1
(ii) of Article 19 and its use is subject to special
rules and regulations.
1?
PAGENO="0136"
132 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
3. Members may not maintain or impose any restric-
tions on the holding or use by the Bank, for making
amortization payments or anticipatory payments or for
repurchasing in whole or in part the Bank's own obliga-
tions, of currencies received by the Bank in repayment of
direct loans made out of its ordinary capital resources,
provided, however, that until the Bank's subscribed call-
able capital stock has been entirely called, such holding
or use shall be subject to any limitations imposed pur-
suant to paragraph 2 (i) of this Article except in respect
of obligations payable in the currency of the member
concerned.
4. Gold or currencies held by the Bank shall not be
used by the Bank to purchase other currencies of members
or non-members except:
(i) in order to meet its obligations in the ordinary
course of its business; or
(ii) pursuant to a decision of the Board of Directors
adopted by a vote of the Directors representing not
less than two-thirds of the total voting power of
the members.
5. Nothing herein contained shall prevent the Bank
from using the currency of any member for administrative
expenses incurred by the Bank in the territory of such
member.
Article 25
MAINTENANCE OF VALUE OF THE
CURRENCY HOLDINGS OF THE BANK
1. Whenever (a) the par value in the International
Monetary Fund of the currency of a member is reduced
in terms of the dollar defined in Article 4 of this Agree-
ment, or (b) in the opinion of the Bank, after consulta-
tion with the International Monetary Fund, the foreign
exchange value of a member's currency has depreciated
to a significant extent, that member shall pay to the Bank
within a reasonable time an additional amount of its cur-
rency required to maintain the value of all such currency
held by the Bank, excepting (a) currency derived by the
Bank from its borrowings and (b) unless otherwise pro-
vided in the agreement establishing such Funds, Special
Funds resources accepted by the Bank under paragraph
1 (ii) of Article 19.
2. Whenever (a) the par value in the International
Monetary Fund of the currency of a member is increased
in terms of the said dollar, or (b) in the opinion of the
Bank, after consultation with the International Monetary
Fund, the foreign exchange value of a member's currency
has appreciated to a significant extent, the Bank shall pay
to that member within a reasonable time an amount of
that currency required to adjust the value of all such cur-
rency held by the Bank excepting (a) currency
derived by the Bank from its borrowings, and (b)
unless otherwise provided in the agreement establishing
such Funds, Special Funds resources accepted by the Bank
under paragraph 1 (ii) of Article 19.
3. The Bank may waive the provisions of this Article
when a uniform proportionate change in the par value of
the currencies of all its members takes place.
CHAPTER VI
ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT
Article 26
STRUCTURE
The Bank shall have a Board of Governors, a Board
of Directors, a President, one or more Vice-Presidents
and such other officers and staff as may be considered
necessary.
Article 27
BOARD OF GOVERNORS: COMPOSITION
1. Each member shall be represented on the Board of
Governors and shall appoint one Governor and one alter-
nate. Each Governor and alternate shall serve at the
pleasure of the appointing member. No alternate may vote
except in the absence of his principal. At its annual meet-
ing, the Board shall designate one of the Governors as
Chairman who shall hold office until the election of the
next Chairman and the next annual meeting of the Board.
2. Governors and alternates shall serve as such without
remuneratisn from the Bank, but the Bank may pay them
reasonable expenses incurred in attending meetings.
Article 28
BOARD OF GOVERNORS: POWERS
1. All the powers of the Bank shall be vested in the
Board of Governors.
2. The Board of Governors may delegate to the Board
of Directors any or all its powers, except the power to:
(i) admit new members and determine the conditions
of their admission;
(ii) increase or decrease the authorized capital stock
of the Bank;
(iii) suspend a member;
(iv) decide appeals from interpretations or applica-
tions of this Agreement given by the Board of
Directors;
(v) authorize the conclusion of general agreements
for co-operation with other international organi-
zations;
(vi) elect the Directors and the President of the
Bank;
(vii) determine the remuneration of the Directors and
their alternates and the salary and other terms of
the contract of service of the President;
(viii) approve, after reviewing the auditor's report, the
general balance sheet and the statement of profit
and loss of the Bank;
(ix) determine the reserves and the distribution of the
net profits of the Bank;
(x) amend this Agreement;
(xi) decide to terminate the operations of the Bank
and to distribute its assets; and
(xii) exercise such other powers as are expressly as-
signed to the Board of Governors in this Agree-
ment.
3. The Board of Governors shall retain full power to
exercise authority over any matter delegated to the Board
of Directors under paragraph 2 of this Article.
4. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Board of
Governors may, by a vote of two-thirds of the total num-
ber of Governors, representing not less than three-fourths
of the total voting power of the members, from time to
time determine which countries or members of the Banlc
are to be regarded as developed or developing countries
or members, taking into account appropriate economic
considerations.
Article 29
BOARD OF GOVERNORS: PROCEDURE
1. The Board of Governors shall hold an annual meet-
ing and such other meetings as may be provided for by
the Board or called by the Board of Directors. Meetings
of the Board of Governors shall be called, by the Board
of Directors, whenever requested by five (5) members
of the Bank.
2. A majority of the Governors shall constitute a
quorum for any meeting of the Board of Governors,
18
PAGENO="0137"
Article 30
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: COMPOSITION
1. (I) The Board of Directors shall be composed of
ten (10) members who shall not be members of the
Board of Governors, and of whom:
(a) seven (7) shall be elected by the Governors repre-
senting regional members; and
(b) three (3) by the Governors representing non-re-
gional members.
Directors shall be persons of high competence in eco-
nomic and financial matters and shall be elected in accord-
ance with Annex B hereof.
(ii) At the Second Annual Meeting of the Board of
Governors after its inaugural meeting, the Board of Gov-
ernors shall review the size and composition of the Board
of Directors, and shall increase the number of Directors
as appropriate, paying special regard to the desirability,
in the circumstances at that time, of increasing repre-
sentation in the Board of Directors of smaller less devel-
oped member countries. Decisions under this paragraph
should be made by a vote of a majority of the total num-
ber of Governors, representing not less than two-thirds
of the total voting power of the members.
2. Each Director shall appoint an alternate with full
power to act for him when he is not present. Directors
and alternates shall be nationals of member countries. No
two or more Directors may be of the same nationality nor
may any two or more alternates be of the same national-
ity. An alternate may participate in meetings of the Board
but may vote only when he is acting in place of his
principal.
3. Directors shall hold office for a term of two (2)
years and may be re-elected. They shall continue in
office until their successors shall have been chosen and
qualified. If the office of a Director becomes vacant more
than one hundred and eighty (180) days before the end
of his term, a successor shall be chosen in accordance
with Annex B hereof, for the remainder of the term,
by the Governors who elected the former Director. A
majority of the votes cast by such Governors shall be
required for such election. If the office of a Director
becomes vacant one hundred and eighty (180) days or
less before the end of his term, a successor may similarly
be chosen for the remainder of the term, by the Governors
who elected the former Director, in which election a
majority of the votes cast by such Governors shall be
required. While the office ressains vacant, the alternate
of the former Director shall exercise the powers of the
latter, except that of appointing an alternate.
Article 31
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: POWERS
The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the
direction of the general operations of the Bank and, for
this purpose, shall, in addition to the powers assigned to
it expressly by this Agreement, exercise all the powers
delegated to it by the Board of Governors, and in par-
ticular:
(i) prepare the work of the Board of Governors;
Article 32
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: PROCEDURE
I. The Board of Directors shall normally function at
the principal office of the Bank and shall meet as often
as the business of the Bank may require.
2. A majority of the Directors shall constitute a
quorum for any meeting of the Board of Directors, pro-
vided such majority represents not less than two-thirds
of the total voting power of the members.
3. The Board of Governors shall adopt regulations
under which, if there is no Director of its nationality,
a member may send a representative to attend, withosit
right to vote, any meeting of the Board of Directors when
a matter particularly affecting that member is under con-
sideration.
Article 33
VOTING
1. The total voting power of each member shall coissist
of the sum of its basic votes and proportional votes.
(i) The basic votes of each member shall consist of
such number of votes as results from the equal
distribution among all the members of twenty (20)
per cent of the aggregate sum of the basic votes
and proportional votes of all the members
(ii) The number of the proportional votes of each mem-
ber shall be equal to the number of shares of the
capital stock of the Bank held by that member.
2. In voting in the Board of Governors, each Governor
shall be entitled to cast the votes of the member he
represents. Except as otherwise expressly provided in
this Agreement, all matters before the Board of Gover-
nors shall be decided by a majority of the voting power
represented at the meeting.
3. In voting in the Board of Directors, each Director
shall be entitled to east the number of votes that counted
towards his election which votes need not be cast as a
unit. Except as otherwise expressly provided in thts
Agreement, all matters before the Board of Directors
shall be decided by a majority of the voting power
represented at the meeting.
Article 34
THE PRESIDENT
1. The Board of Governors, by a vote of a majority
of the total number of Governors, representing not less
than a majority of the total voting power of the members,
shall elect a President of the Bank. He shall be a national
of a regional member country. The Presidest, while hold-
ing office, shall not be a Governor or a Director, or an
alternate for either.
2. The term of office of the President shall be five (5)
years. He may be re-elected. He shall, however, cease to
hold office when the Board of Governors so decides by a
vote of two-thirds of the total number of Governors,
representing not less than two-thirds of the total voting
power of the members. If the office of the President for
any reason becomes vacant more than one hundred and
eighty (180) days before the end of his term, a successor
shall be elected for the unexpired portion of such term
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 133
provided such majority represents not less than two- (ii) in conformity with the general directions of the
thirds of the total voting power of the members, Board of Governors, take decisions concerning
3. The Board of Governors may by regulation estab- loans, guarantees, investments in equity capital,
lish a procedure whereby the Board of Directors may, borrowing by the Bank, furnishing of technical as-
when the latter deems such action advisable, obtain a sistance and other operations of the Bank;
vote of the Governors on a specific question without call- (iii) submit the accounts for each financial year for ap-
ing a meeting of the Board of Governors. proval of the Board of Governors at each annual
4. The Board of Governors, and the Board of Direc- meeting; and
tors to the extent authorized, may establish such sub- (iv) approve the budget of the Bank.
sidiary bodies as may be necessary or appropriate to
conduct the business of the Bank.
19
PAGENO="0138"
134 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
by the Board of Governors in accordance with the pro- Article 38
visions of paragraph 1 of this Article. If such office for CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATIONS,
any reason becomes vacant one hundred and eighty (180) DEPOSITORIES
days or less before the end of the term, a successor may
similarly be elected for the unexpired portion of such 1. Each member shall designate an appropriate official
term by the Board of Governors, entity with which the Bank may communicate in con-
3. The President shall be Chairman of the Board of nexion with any matter arising under this Agreement.
Directors but shall have no vote, except a deciding vote 2. Each member shall designate its central bank, or
in case of an equal division. He may participate in meet- such other agency as may be agreed upon with the Bank,
ings of the Board of Gsvernors but shall not vote, as a depository with which the Bank may keep its hold-
4. The President shall be the legal representative of ings of currency of that member as ~ eli as other assets
the Bank. of the Bank.
5. The President shall be chief of the staff of the Bank Article 39
and shall conduct, under the direction of the Board of WORKING LANGUAGE, REPORTS
Directors, the current business of the Bank. He shall be
responsible for the organization, appointment and dis- 1. The working language of the Bank shall be English.
missal of the officers and staff in accordance with regula-
tions adopted by the Board of Directors. 2. The Bai:ik shall trans!mt to its members an Annual
Report containing an audited statement of its accounts
6. In appointing the officers and staff, the President and shall publish such Report. It shall also transmit
shall, subject to the paramount importance of securing quarterly to its members a summary statement of its
the highest standards of efficiency and technical coni- financial position and a profit and loss statement showing
petence, pay due regard to the recruitment of personnel the results of its operations.
on as wide a regional geographical basis as possible.
3. The Bank may also publish such other reports as
it deems desirable in the carrying out of its purpose and
r sc .e functions. Such reports shall be transmitted to the mem-
VICEPRESIDENT(S) hers of the BaIik.
1. One or more Vice-Presidents shall be appointed by Article 40
the Board of Directors on the recommendation of the ALLOCATION OF NET INCOME
President. Vice-President(s) shall hold office for such
term, exercise such authority and perform such functions 1. The Board of Governors shall determine annually
in the administration of the Bank, as may be determined what part of the net income of the Banlc, including the
by the Board of Directors. In the absence or incapacity net income accruing to Special Funds, shall be allocated,
of the President, the Vice-President or, if there be more after making provision for reserves, to surplus and what
than one, the ranking Vice-President, shall exercise the part, if any, shall be distributed to the members.
authority and perform the functions of the President. . .
2. The distribution referred to in the preceding para-
2. Vice-President(s) may participate in meetings of graph shall be made in proportion to the number of
the ~oard of Directors but shall !iave no vote at s~ich shares held by each member.
meetings, except that the Vice-President or ianking Vice-
President, as the case may be, shall cast the deciding vote 3. Payments shall be made in such manner and in such
when acting in place of the President. currency as the Board of Governors shall determine.
Article 36
PROHIBITION OF POLITICAL ACTIVITY: CHAPTER VII
THE INTERNATIONAL CHARACTER OF
THE BANK WITHDRAWAL AND SUSPENSION OF
MEMBERS, TEMPORARY SUSPENSION AND
1. The Bank shall not accept loans or assistance that TERMINATION OF OPERATIONS OF THE
may in any way prejudice, limit, deflect or otherwise BANK
alter its purpose or functions.
2. The Bank, its President, Vice-President(s), of-
ficers and staff shall not interfere in the political affairs Article 41
of any member, nor shall they be influenced in their de- WITHDRAWAL
cisions by the political character of the member con-
cerned. Only economic considerations shall be relevalt 1. Any member may withdraw from the Bank at any
to their decisions. Such considerations shall be weighed time by delivering a notice in writing to the Bank at its
impartially in order to achieve and carry out the purpose principal office.
and functions of the Bank. 2. Withdrawal by a member shall become effective,
3. The President, Vice-President(s), officers and staff and its membership shall cease, on the date specified in
of the Bank, in the discharge of their offices, owe their its notice but in no event less than six (6) months after
duty entirely to the Bank and to no other authority. Each the date that notice has been receis ed by the Bank. How-
member of the Bank shall respect the international char- ever, at any time before the withdrawal becomes finally
acter of this duty and shall refrain from all attempts to effective, the member may iiotify the Bank in writing of
influence any of them in the discharge of their duties, the cancellation of its notice of intention to withdraw.
3. A withdrawing member shall remain liable for all
Article 37 direct and contingent obligations to the Bank to which
OFFICE OF THE BANK it was subject at the date of delivery of the withdrawal
notice. If the withdrawal becomes finally effective, the
The principal office of the Bank shall be located in member shall not incur any liability for obligations
Manila, Philippines. resulting from operations of the Bank effected after the
2. The Bank may establish agencies or branch offices date on which the withdrawal notice was received by
elsewhere, the Bank.
20
PAGENO="0139"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 135
Article 42
SUSPENSION OF MEMBERSHIP
1. If a member fails to fulfil any of its obligations
to the Bank, the Board of Governors may suspend such
membec by a vote of two-thirds of the total number of
Governors, representing not less than three-fourths of the
total voting power of the members.
2. The member so suspended shall automatically cease
to be a member of the Bank one (1) year from the date
of its suspension unless the Board of Governors, during
the one-year period, decides by the same majority neces-
sary for suspension to restore the member to good
standing.
3. While under suspension, a member shall not be
entitled to exercise any rights under this Agreement,
except the right of withdrawal, but shall remain subject
to all its obligations.
Article 43
SETTLEMENT OF ACCOUNTS
1. After the date on which a country ceases to be
a member, it shall remain liable for its direct obligations
to the Bank and for its contingent liabilities to the Bank
so long as any part of the loans or guarantees contracted
before it ceased to be a member is outstanding; but it
shall not incur liabilities with respect to loans and guar-
antees entered into thereafter by the Bank nor share
either in the income or the expenses of the Bank.
2. At the time a country ceases to be a member, the
Bank shall arrange for the repurchase of such country's
shares by the Bank as a part of the settlement of accounts
with such country in accordance with the provisions of
paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article. For this purpose,
the repurchase price of the shares shall be the value
shown by the books of the Bank on the date the country
ceases to be a member.
3. The payment for shares repurchased by the Bank
under this Article shall be governed by the following
conditions
(i) Any amount due to the country concerned for its
shares shall be withheld so long as that country,
its central bank or any of its agencies, instru-
mentalities or political subdivisions remains liable,
as borrower or guarantor, to the Bank and such
amount may, at the option of the Bank, be applied
on any such liability as it matures. No amount
shall be withheld on account of the contingent
liability of the country f or future calls on its
subscription for shares in accordance with para-
graph S of Article 6 of this Agreement. In any
event, no amount due to a member for its shares
shall be paid until six (6) months after the date
on which the country ceases to be a member.
(ii) Payments for shares may be made from time to
time, upon surrender of the corresponding stock
certificates by the country concerned, to the extent
by which the amount due as the repurchase price
in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article
exceeds the aggregate amount of liabilities, on
loans and guarantees referred to in sub-paragraph
(i) of this paragraph, until the former member has
received the full repurchase price.
(iii) Payments shall be made in such available currencies
as the Bank determines, taking into account its
financial position.
(iv) If losses are sustained by the Bank on any guar-
antees or loans which were outstanding on the
date when a country ceased to be a member and
the amount of such losses exceeds the amount of
the reserve provided against losses on that date,
the country concerned shall repay, upon demand,
the amount by which the repurchase price of its
shares would have been reduced if the losses had
been taken into account when the repurchase price
was determined. In addition, the former member
shall remain liable on any call for unpaid sub-
scriptions in accordance with paragraph 5 of
Article 6 of this Agreement, to the same extent
that it would have been required to respond if
the impairment of capital had occurred and the
call had been made at the time the repurchase
price of its shares was determined,
4. If the Bank terminates its operations pursuant to
Article 45 of this Agreement within six (6) months
of the date upon which any country ceases to be a
member, all rights of the country concerned shall be
determined in accordance with the provisions of Articles
45 to 47 of this Agreement. Such country shall be
considered as still a member for purposes of such Articles
but shall have no voting rights.
Article 44
TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF OPERATIONS
In an emergency, the Board of Directors may tem-
porarily suspend operations in respect of new loans and
guarantees, pending an opportunity for further considera-
tion and action by the Board of Governors.
Article 45
TERMINATION OF OPERATIONS
1. The Bank may terminate its operations by a reso-
lution of the Board of Governors approved by a vote of
two-thirds of the total number of Governors, representing
not less than three-fourths of the total voting power of
the members.
2. After such termination, the Bank shall forthwith
cease all activities, except those incident to the orderly
cealization, conservation and preservation of its a'sets and
settlement of its obligations.
Article 46
LIABILITY OF MEMBERS
AND PAYMENT OF CLAIMS
1. In the event of termination of the operations of the
Bank, the liability of all members for uncalled subscrip-
tions to the capital stock of the Bank and in respect of
the depreciation of their currencies shall continue until all
claims of creditors, including all contingent claims, shall
have been discharged.
2. All creditors holding direct claims shall first be
paid out of the assets of the Bank and then out of pay-
ments to the Bank or unpaid or callable subscriptions.
Before making any payments to creditors holding direct
claims, the Board of Directors shall malce such arrange-
ments as are necessary, in its judgment, to ensure a pro
rota distribution among holders of direct and contingent
claims.
Article 47
DISTRIBUTION OF ASSETS
1. No distribution of assets shall be made to members
on account of their subscriptions to the capital stock of
the Bank until all liabilities to creditors shall have been
discharged or provided for. Moreover, such distribution
must be approved by the Board of Governors by a vote
of two-thirds of the total number of Governors, repre-
senting not less than three-fourths of the total voting
power of the members.
2. Any distribution of the assets of the Bank to the
members shall be in proportion to the capital stock held
by each member and shall be effected at such times and
under such conditions as the Bank shall deem fair and
21
PAGENO="0140"
136 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Article 49
LEGAL STATUS
The Bank shall possess full juridical personality and,
in particular, full capacity:
(i) to contract;
(ii) to acquire, and dispose of, immovable and movable
property; and
(iii) to institute legal proceedings.
Article 50
IMMUNITY FROM JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS
1. The Bank shall enjoy immtinity from every form of
legal process, except in cases arising out of or in con-
nexion with the exercise of its powers to borrow money,
to guarantee obligations, or to buy and sell or underwrite
the sale of securities, in which cases actions may be
brought against the Bank in a court of competent juris-
diction in the territory of a country in which the Bank
has its principal or a branch ofilce, or has appointed an
agent for the purpose of accepting service or notice of
process, or has issued or guaranteed securities.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of
this Article, no action shall be brought against the Bank
by any member, or by any agency or instrumentality of
a member, or by any entity or person directly or indirectly
acting for or deriving claims from a member or from any
agency or instrumentality of a member. Members shall
have recourse to such special procedures for the settle-
ment of controversies between the Bank and its members
as may be prescribed in this Agreement, in the by-laws
and regulations of the Bank, or in contracts entered into
with the Bank.
3. Property and assets of the Bank shall, wheresoever
located and by whomsoever held, be immune from all
forms of seizure, attachment or execution before the
delivery of final judgment against the Bank.
Article 51
IMMUNITY OF ASSETS
Article 54
PRIVILEGE FOR COMMUNICATIONS
Official communications of the Bank shall be accorded
by each member treatment not less favourable than that
it accords to the official communications of any other
member.
Article 56
EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION
1. The Bank, its assets, property, income and its opera-
tions and transactions, shall be exempt from all taxation
and from all customs duties. The Bank shall also be
exempt from any obligation for the payment, withholding
or collection of any tax or duty.
2. No tax shall be levied on or in respect of salaries
and emoluments paid by the Bank to Directors, alternates,
officers or employees of the Bank, including experts
performing missions for the Bank, except where a mem-
ber deposits with its instrument of ratification or accept-
ance a declaration that such member retains for itself
and its political subdivisions the right to tax salaries and
emoluments paid by the Bank to citizens or nationals of
such member.
3. No tax of any kind shall be levied on any obliga-
tion or security issued by the Bank, including any divi-
dend or interest thereon, by whomsoever held:
(i) which discriminates against such obligation or
security solely because it is issued by the Bank, or
(ii) if the sole jurisdictional basis for such taxation is
the place or currency in which it is issued, made
payable or paid, or the location of any office or
place of business maintained by the Bank.
4. No tax of any kind shall be levied on any obliga-
tion or security guaranteed by the Bank, including any
dividend or interest thereon, by whomsoever held:
(i) which discriminates against such obligation or
security solely because it is guaranteed by the
Bank; or
equitable. The shares of assets distributed need not be Article 53
uniform as to type of asset. No member shall be entitled FREEDOM OF ASSETS FROM
to receive its share in such a distribution of assets until RESTRICTIONS
it has settled all of its obligations to the Bank.
To the extent necessary to carry out the purpose and
3. Any member receiving assets distributed pursuant functions of the Bank effectively, and subject to the pro-
to this Article shall enjoy the same rights with respect to visions of this Agreement, all property and assets of the
such assets as the Bank enjoyed prior to their distribution. Bank shall be free from restrictions, regulations, con-
trols and moratoria of any nature.
CHAPTER VIII
STATUS, IMMUNITIES, EXEMPTIONS
AND PRIVILEGES
Article 48
PURPOSE OF CHAPTER
To enable the Bank effectively to fulfil its purpose and
carry out the functions entrusted to it, the status, immuni- Article 55
ties, exemptions and privileges set forth in this Chapter IMMUNITIES AND PRIVILEGES OF BANK
shall be accorded to the Bank in the territory of each PERSONNEL
member.
All Governors, Directors, alternates, officers and em-
ployees of the Bank, including experts performing mis-
sions for the Bank:
(i) shall be immune from legal process with respect
to acts performed by them in their official capacity,
except when the Bank waives the immunity;
(ii) where they are not local citizens or nationals, shall
be accorded the same immunities from immigra-
lion restrictions, alien registration requirements
and natipnal service obligations, and the same
facilities as regards exchange regulations, as are
accorded by members to the representatives, of-
ficials and employees of comparable rank of other
members; and
(iii) shall be granted the same treatment in respect of
travelling facilities as is accorded by members to
representatives, officials and employees of com-
parable rank of other members.
Property and assets of the Bank, wheresoever located
and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search,
requisition, confiscation, expropriatisn or any other form
of taking or foreclosure by executive or legislative action.
Article 52
IMMUNITY OF ARCHIVES
The archives of the Bank and, in general, all documents
belonging to it, or held by it, shall be inviolable, wherever
located.
22
PAGENO="0141"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 137
(ii) if the sole jurisdictional basis for sueh taxation is
the location of any office or place of business main-
tained by the Bank.
Article 57
IMPLEMENTATION
Each member, in accordance with its juridical system,
shall promptly take such action as is necessary to make
effective in its own territory the provisions set forth in
this Chapter and shall inform the Bank of the action
which it has taken on the matter.
Article 58
WAIVER OF IMMUNITIES, EXEMPTIONS
AND PRIVILEGES
The Bank at its discretion may waive any of the
privileges, immunities and exemptions conferred under
this Chapter in any case or instance, in such manner
and upon such conditions as it may determine to be
appropriate in the best interests of the Bank.
CHAPTER IX
AMENDMENTS, INTERPRETATION,
ARBITRATION
Article 59
AMENDMENTS
1. This Agreement may be amended only by a resolu-
tion of the Board of Governors approved by a vote of
two-thirds of the total number of Governors, representing
not less than three-fourths of the total voting power of
the members.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of
this Article, the unanimous agreement of the Board of
Governors shall be required for the approval of any
amendment modifying:
(i) the right to withdraw from the Bank;
(ii) the limitations on liability provided in paragraphs
6 and 7 of Article 5; and
(iii) the rights pertaining to purchase of capital stock
provided in paragraph 2 of Article 5.
Article 60
INTERPRETATION OR APPLICATION
1. Any question of interpretation or application of
the provisions of this Agreement arising between any
member and the Bank, or between two or more members
of the Bank, shall be submitted to the Board of Directors
for decision. If there is no Director of its nationality
on that Board, a member particularly affected by the
question under consideration shall be entitled to direct
representation in the Board of Directors during such
consideration; the representative of such member shall,
however, have no vote. Such right of representation
shall be regulated by the Board of Governors.
2. In any case wlsere the Board of Directors has
given a decision under paragraph 1 of this Article, any
member may require that the question be referred to
the Board of Governors, whose decision shall be final
Pending the decision of the Board of Governors, the
Bank may, so far as it deems necessary, act on the basis
of the decision of the Board of Directors.
Article 61
ARBITRATION
If a disagreement should arise between the Bank and
a country which has ceased to be a member, or between
the Bank and any member, after adoption of a resolution
to terminate the operations of the Bank, such disagreement
shall be submitted to arbitration by a tribunal of three
arbitrators. One of the arbitrators shall be appointed
by the Bank, another by the country concerned and the
third, unless the parties otherwise agree, by the Presi-
dent of the International Court of Justice or such other
authority as may have been prescribed by regulations
adopted by the Board of Governors. A majority vote of
the arbitrators shall be sufficient to reach a decision
which shall be final and binding upon the parties. The
third arbitrator shall be empowered to settle all questions
of procedure in an case where the parties are in disagree-
ment with respect thereto.
Article 62
APPROVAL DEEMED GIVEN
Whenever the approval of any member is required
before any act may be done by the Bank, approval shall
be deemed to have been given unless the member presents
an objection within such reasonable period as the Bank
may fix in notifying the member of the proposed act.
Article 64
RATIFICATION OR ACCEPTANCE
1. This Agreement shall be subject to ratification or
acceptance by the Signatories. Instruments of ratification
or acceptance shall be deposited with the Depository not
later than 30 September 1966. The Depository shall duly
notify the other Signatories of each deposit and the date
thereof.
2. A Signatory whose instrument of ratification or
acceptance is deposited before the date on which this
Agreement enters into force, shall become a member of
the Bank on that date. Any other Signatory which
complies with the provisions of the preceding paragraph,
shall become a member of the Bank on the date on which
its instrument of ratification or acceptance is deposited.
CHAPTER X
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 63
SIGNATURE AND DEPOSIT
1. The original of this Agreement in a single copy
in the English language shall remain open for signature
at the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia
and the Far East, in Bangkok, until 31 January 1966 by
3. Any proposal to amend this Agreement, whether Governments of countries listed in Annex A to this
emanating from a member or the Board of Directors, Agreement. This document shall thereafter be deposited
shall be communicated to the Chairman of the Boa~d with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (here-
of Governors, who shall bring the proposal before the inafter called the "Depository").
Board of Governors. When an amendment has been 2. The Depository shall send certified copies of this
adopted, the Banlc shall so certify in an official com- Agreement to all the Signatories and other countries
munication addressed to all members. Amendments shall which become members of the Bank.
enter into force for all members three (3) months after
the date of the official communication unless the Board
of Governors specifies therein a different period.
23
PAGENO="0142"
138 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Article 65
ENTRY INTO FORCE
This Agreement shall enter into force when instruments
of ratification or acceptance have been deposited by at
least fifteen (15) Signatories (including not less than
ten (10) regional countries) whose initial subscriptions,
as set forth in Annex A to this Agreement, in the
aggregate comprise not less than sixty-five (65) per cent
of the authorized capital stock of the Bank.
Article 66
COMMENCEMENT OF OPERATIONS
1. As soon as this Agreement enters into force, each
member shall appoint a Governor, and the Executive
Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission
for Asia and the Far East shall call the inaugural
meeting of the Board of Governors.
2. At its inaugural meeting, the Board ef Governors:
(i) shall make arrangements for the election of Direc-
tors of the Bank in accordance with paragraph 1
of Article 30 of this Agreement; and
(ii) shall make arrangements for the determination of
the date on which the Bank shall commence its
operations.
3. The Bank shall notify its members of the date of
the commencement of its operations.
DONE at the City of Manila, Philippines, on 4 Decem-
ber 1965, in a single copy in the English language which
shall be brought to the United Nations Economic Com-
mission for Asia and the Far East, Bangkok, and
thereafter deposited with the. Secretary-General of the
United Nations, New York, in accordance with Article 63
of this Agreement.
24
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ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 139
Appendix 3
For Release Monday, December 18, 1967
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D. C.
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK AcT
Release No. 1
SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Release No. 4889
SECURITIES EXCHANGE Acr OF 1934
Release No. 8209
TRUsT INDENTURE Ac~r OF 1939
Release No. 242
ADOPTION OF REGULATION AD
The Securities and Exchange Commission today
adopted miles and regulations specifying the periodic and
other reports to be filed with it by the Asian Develop-
ment Bank. This action is taken pursuant to Section
11(a) of the Asian Development Bank Act.
Section 11 of the above-mentioned Act exempts from
registration under both the Securities Act of 1933 and
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 securities issued in
connection with the raising of funds for inclusion in the
Bank's ordinary capital resources and securities guar-
anteed as to both principal and interest by the Bank.
However, the Bank is required to file with the Com-
mission such annual and other reports with respect to
such securities as the Commission shall determine to be
appropriate in view of the special character of the Bank
and its operations and necessary in the public interest or
for the protection of investors. It would appear that an
exemption is available under the Trust Indenture Act of
1939.
The new rules and regulations adopted today require
the Bank to file with the Commission substantially the
same information, documents and reports as would be
required if the Bank had securities registered under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Bank is also re-
quired to file a report with the Commission not less than
seven days prior to the date on which any of its primary
obligations are sold to the public in the United States, or
such shorter period as the Commission may authorize.
This report and the periodic reports to be filed will
make available at the Commission information quite
similar to the information which would be required in a
registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933.
The Commission is informed by the Bank that no public
offering of securities guaranteed by the Bank is presently
contemplated. Accordingly, the new rules, insofar as they
require the reporting of the proposed public sale of securi-
ties, are limited to the sale of primary obligations of the
Bank. Rules with respect to reporting the proposed sale
of securities guaranteed by the Bank will be adopted by
the Commission when the need therefor arises.
The new regulation, which is designated Regulation
AD, was adopted pursuant to Section 11(a) of the
Asian Development Bank Act, the Commission finding
such action appropriate in view of the special character
of the Asian Development Bank and its operations and
necessary in the public interest and for the protection of
investors. The text of the regulation follows.
REGULATION AD
RULE 1. Applscabzlity of Regulation.
Regulation AD prescribes the reports to be filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission by the Asian
Development Bank pursuant to Section 11(a) of the Asian
Development Bank Act.
RULE 2. Periodic Reports.
(a) Within 60 days after the end of each of its fiscal
quarters, the Bank shall file with the Commission the
following information:
(1) Information as to any purchases or sales by the
Bank of its primary obligations during such
quarter.
(2) Copies of the Bank's regular quarterly financial
statement.
(3) Copies of any material modifications or amend-
ments during such quarter of any exhibits (other
than (i) constituent documents defining the rights
of holders of securities of other issuers guaranteed
by the Bank, and (ii) loans and guaranty agree-
ments to which the Bank is a party) previously
filed with the Commission under any statute.
(b) Copies of each annual report of the Bank to its
Board of Governors shall be filed with the Commission
within 10 days after the submission of such report to the
Board of Governors.
RULE 3. Reports with Respect to Proposed Distribution
of Primary Obligations.
The Bank shall file with the Commission, not less than
seven days prior to the date on which it proposes to sell
any of its primary obligations in connection with a distri-
bution of such obligations in the United States, or such
shorter period as the Commission may authorize, a report
containing the information and documents specified in
Schedule A below. The term "sell" as used in this rule
and in Schedule A means the making of a completed sale
or a firm commitment to sell.
RULE 4. Preparation and Filing of Reports.
(a) Every report required by this regulation shall be
filed under cover of a letter of transmittal which shall
state the nature of the report and indicate the particular
rule and subdivision thereof pursuant to which the report
is filed. At least the original of every such letter shall be
signed on behalf of the Bank by a duly `authorized officer
thereof.
(b) Two copies of every report, including the letter of
transmittal, exhibits and other papers and documents
comprising a part of the report, shall be filed with the
Commission.
(c) The report shall be in the English language. If
any exhibit or other paper or document filed with the
report is in a foreign language, it shall be accompanied
by a translation into the English language.
(d) Reports pursuant to Rule 3 may be filed in the
form of a prospectus to the extent that such prospectus
contains the information specified in Schedule A.
SCHEDULE A
This schedule specifies the information and documents
to be furnished in a report pursuant to Rule 3 with re-
spect to a proposed distribution of primary obligations of
the Bank. Information not available at the time of filing
the report shall be filed as promptly thereafter as pos-
sible.
25
PAGENO="0144"
140 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
ITEM 1. Description of Obligations.
As to each issue of primary obligations of the Bank
which is to be distributed, furnish the following infor-
mation:
(a) The title and date of the issue.
(b) The interest rate and interest payment dates.
(c) The maturity date or, if serial, the plan of serial
maturities. If the maturity of the obligation may
be accelerated, state the circumstances under which
it may be so accelerated.
(d) A brief outline of (1) any redemption provisions
and (2) any amortization, sinking fund or retire-
ment provisions, stating the annual amount, if any,
which the Bank will be under obligation to apply
for the satisfaction of such provisions.
(e) If secured by any lien, the kind and priority thereof,
and the nature of the property subject to the lien; if
any other indebtedness is secured by an equal or
prior lien on the same property, state the nature
of such other liens.
(f) If any obligations issued or to be issued by the
Bank will, as to the payment of interest or
principal, rank prior to the obligations to be dis-
tributed, describe the nature and extent of such
priority.
(g) Outline briefly any provisions of the governing in-
struments under which the terms of the obligations
to be distributed may be amended or modified by
the holders thereof or otherwise.
(h) Outline briefly any other material provisions of the
governing instruments pertaining to the rights of the
holders of the obligations to be distributed or per-
taining to the duties of the Bank with respect
thereto.
(i) The name and address of the fiscal or paying agent
of the Bank, if any.
ITEM 2. Distribution of Obligations.
(a) Outline briefly the plan of distribution of the
obligations and state the amount of the participation of
each principal underwriter, if any.
(b) Describe any arrangements known to the Bank or
to any principal underwriter named above designed to
stabilize the market for the obligations for the account
of the Bank or the principal underwriters as a group and
indicate whether any transactions have already been
effected to accomplish that purpose.
(c) Describe any arrangements for withholding com-
missions, or otherwise, to hold each underwriter or dealer
responsible for the distribution of his participation.
ITEM 3. Distribution Spread.
The following information shall be given, in substan-
tially the tabular form indicated, as to all obligations
which are to be offered for cash (estimate, if necessary)
Price Selling Prsceeds
to the Discounts and to the
Public Commissions Book
Per Unit
Total
ITEM 4. Discounts and Commissions to
Sub-Underwriters and Dealers.
State briefly the discounts and commissions to be al-
lowed or paid to dealers. If any dealers arc to act in the
capacity of sub-underwriters and are to be allowed or
paid any additional discounts or commissions for acting
in such capacity, a general statement to that effect will
suffice, without giving the additional amounts to be so
paid.
ITEM 5. Other E.rpenses of Distribution.
Furnish a reasonably itemized statement of all expenses
of the Bank in connection with the issuance and distribu-
tion of the obligations, except underwriters' or dealers'
discounts and commissions.
Instruction. Insofar as practicable, the itemiza-
tion shall include transfer agents' fees, cost of printing
and engraving, and legal and accounting fees. The
information may be given as subject to future con-
tingencies. If the amounts of any items arc not known,
estimates, designated as such, shall be given.
ITEM 6. Application of Proceeds.
Make a reasonably itemized statement of the purposes,
so far as determinable, for which the net proceeds to the
Bank from the obligations are to be used, and state the
approximate amount to be used for each such purpose.
ITEM 7. Ezhibits to be Furnished.
The following documents shall be attached to or other-
wise furnished as a part of the report:
(a) Copies of the constituent instruments defining the
rights evidenced by the obligations.
(b) Copies of an opinion of counsel, in the English
language, as to the legality of the obligations.
(c) Copies of all material contracts pertaining to the
issuance or distributions of the obligations, to which
the Bank or any principal underwriter of the obliga-
tions is or is to be a party, except selling group
agreements.
(d) Copies of any prospectus or other sales literature
to be provided by the Bank or any of the principal
underwriters for general use in connection with the
initial distribution of the obligations to the public.
* * *
Because of the limited applicability of Regulation AD,
on which the views and comments of the Bank have been
received and considered, the Commission finds that notice
and procedure pursuant to the Administrative Procedure
Act are unnecessary.
The foregoing action of the Commission shall become
effective upon publication, December 18, 1967.
By the Commission.
ORVAL L. DuBons,
Secretary.
26
PAGENO="0145"
THE
DOORS
ARE
OPEN
Selected Addresses.
By
TAKESHI WATANABE
President
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
141
9G-614 0-68-10
PAGENO="0146"
PAGENO="0147"
ISSUED BY THE OFFICE OF INFORMATION
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
COMMERCIAL CENTER P.O. BOX 126
MAKATI, RIZAL, PHILIPPINES
September, 1967
143
PAGENO="0148"
144 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
PREFACE
This compilation chronicles the progress of an institution
girding itself to make a valid and meaningful contribution to its
developing member countries. It reflects upon factors which have
impeded the pace~a~d scope of economic advancement in the past,
and outlines the à~;ities already, or intended to be, undertaken
by the Asian Development Bank to help relieve or overcome those
impediments. Above all, these works trace the evolution of the
Bank's role since the Inaugural Meeting of its Board of Governors,
November 24-26, 1966, and the formulation of operating policies
consistent with that role.
2
PAGENO="0149"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 145
CONTENTS
Fanning The Flame . 4
Defining A Role 7
Pattern For Prosperity 12
Great Expectations 19
Groundwork For Growth 23
Special Funds: The Critical Plus 31
Strategy For Success 37
A Plan of Action 43
Prerequisite For Progress 49
Diplomacy: A New Dimension 53
3
PAGENO="0150"
146 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
FANNING
THE
FLAME
I consider it a great honor, not only for myself, but for my
country as well, that I was selected to be the first President of the
Asian Development Bank. Although there are obvious~1y many peo-
ple better qualified for this position, I doubt that any has a greater
enthusiasm for, or dedication to, the cause before us, - namely,
the economic development of an emerging Asia. I, therefore, hum-
bly accept this honor, and the breathtaking challenge it affords,
and pledge to devote the sum total of my energies and abilities to
carrying out this weighty responsibility. I will do my best to per-
form in the role of international servant, under the guidance of
the Board of Governors, and in accordance with the general direc-
tion of the Board of Directors.
My immediate task is to devise a suitable organizational struc-
ture for the Bank, and to begin assembling an official staff. It goes
without saying that the success of this Bank depends upon the
high caliber of its personnel. Until such time as permanent assign-
ments become feasible, I would like to appoint, temporarily, the
limited number of personnel essential to the transaction of imme-
diate business. Additionally, I am prepared, at the earliest possible
moment, to visit all member nations, beginning with those situated
in our region. In this way, I hope to gain a more comprehensive
understanding of the prevailing economic climate in each country,
and to provide an ear for each nation's views on the Bank. It is
my further expectation that this trip will provide a good oppor-
tunity to secure competent personnel for the Bank.
Although I would like to make a more detailed policy state-
ment, at a later date, in Manila, let it suffice for now that, in my
opinion, our operation should pursue two overall objectives. The
first is to mobilize as much capital as possible for the development
of Asia. The present capitalization of the Bank, at close to one bil-
lion dollars, is a healthy start indeed; however, if we are to shed
more than a glimmer of light on an area which houses one third
of the world's population, or roughly one billion people, this is
4
PAGENO="0151"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 147
merely a beginning. I envision the initial resources of the Asian
Development Bank as a catalyst, supplying the impetus for the in-
flux of new investment funds from regional and non-regional
sources alike. Moreover, it would be a grave tragedy if the flame
of our enthusiasm should be snuffed out by a premature dissipa-
tion of our capital. It behooves us therefore, in our infancy, to step
cautiously, exerting every effort toward establishing a high credit
standing, and proving the worthiness of this institution. In this
way, and only in this way, will the necessary additional resources,
in all the various forms, be made available to the Bank. It is my
ardent desire that all developed countries, in every corner of the
world, who are concerned with the welfare of Asia, will appreciate
our efforts, and continue to contribute generously to our common
endeavor.
The second, and equally significant objective to bear in mind,
is to render the most proficient use of the capital placed at our
disposal. It is my wish to see the funds invested produce the max-
imum efficiency in promoting the economic standard of eaeh and
every recipient nation. This will require a substantial amount of
wisdom and foresight, both on the part of the Bank, and on the
part of the country involved. It is encouraging to note, in that
regard, that a major advantage of any multilateral organization
such as ours, is that it provides a deep well of experience from
which we can draw. Endowed with such a rich heritage of inter-
national insight, the Asian Development Bank will strive to achieve
a posture which will enable it to provide assistance in locating
projects for development loans, and in helping to foster the kind
of atmosphere which will make these loans possible.
Before concluding my remarks, I would like to pay tribute to
all those who have worked so diligently to pave the way for the
Bank's establishment, and especially to U Nyun, Executive
Secretary of ECAFE, for his untiring efforts in bringing this cher-
ished idea to fruition. We have been indeed fortunate to have had
so many able and generous individuals, governments, and interna-
tional organizations, all extending their helping hands to our un-
dertaking. I look forward to their continued cooperation and en-
couragement in the execution of my duties as President of the
Asian Development Bank.
(Presidei~t's acceptance speech at the Inaugura'
Meeting of the Board of Governors, Asian
Development Bank, in Tokyo, November 24-26, 1966)
5
PAGENO="0152"
148 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
6
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ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 14~
DEFINING A ROLE
I should like, first of all, to express my sincere appreciation
to all the distinguished Governors for their very kind remarks re-
garding my selection as President of the Asian Development Bank.
I assure you ~that you are far generous with your praise. It does,
however, provide me with a further incentive to prove both myself
and the Bank worthy of your confidence, for, without this confi-
dence, the task before us would not be possible.
Secondly, I would like to echo the sentiments voiced by all the
distinguished Governors in extending a warm welcome to Indo-
nesia. We are most pleased that she has joined our official family.
We are equally gratified that Switzerland is soon to enter the fold.
I believe that their examples should indicate to every nation of the
world that the doors of the ADB will always be open. It is only fit-
ting that all the nations within the ECAFE region should share
in our common endeavor, and we hope that those who are not with
us today will soon assume their rightful places at our side. This
plea, however, reaches beyond the borders of ECAFE. It extends
to all the developed nations outside the region. For, if our goals
are ever to be realized, it will be in large measure due to the un-
selfish contribution of their capital and technological resources.
His Excellency Mr. Eisaku Sato, Prime Minister of Japan, put
his finger on the pulse of this historic Inaugural Meeting when he
said, "This is an event which marks the opening of a new era in
the history of Asia." It is true that we have had a long sleep.
Asians have been all too ready to rest upon the laurels of a distin-
guished past; a past which will always signify beauty and cultura'
grace to the rest of the world. But the time has come to roll up
our sleeves and prepare to cultivate this new era of self-discipline.
From the seeds of this sacrifice will surely spring the fruits of eco-
nomic prosperity.
Our Board of Governors has wisely pointed out two roads
which will bring us to this goal; although they are quite different
from one another, they are both essential. The first is, by now, a
familiar term to all those concerned with the future of Asia. I am
speaking of regional cooperation. The Asian Developmen~t Bank
is fortunate to have felt its presence already. Our very existence
7
PAGENO="0154"
150 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
is sufficient testimony to the attendance of this spirit at the Pre~
paratory Committee meetings. Through their labors, we can see
that such cooperation, and only that kind of cooperation,' can
carve unanimity of regional purpose out of the hard rock of na-
tional self-interest.
It is this communal spirit that the ADB has been commis-
sioned to foster throughout the ECAFE region. I feel certain that
regional cooperation is the key to solving many of the issues which
have been raised by the distinguished Governors. For example,
comparative economic advantage for any one country can only
be understood within the context of the capabilities and resources
of the other countries in the group. And price stability is far
easier to achieve by collectively discussing the issues than by in-
dividually dictating the desired results. Ironically, therefore, it be-
comes clear that in many instances, national self-interest can best
be served through collective efforts.
However, the simple interchange of ideas cannot alone usher
in economic prosperity. A nation cannot presume to draw from
the storeroom of international experience without contributing
something in its place. It is the question of how to replenish this
supply which leads us to the second of the two roads that I men-
tioned. Backed by the considerable judgment and wisdom of our
non-regional colleagues, the nations of Asia have the opportunity,
and more significantly, the obligation, to play an active role in
determining their own destiny. This theme of controlled destiny
found the same eloquent expression in the statements of the dis-
tinguished Governors as did regional cooperation. I would re-
iterate that the greatest measure of help will surely accrue to those
nations that take the lead in helping themselves. Many of the
countries in this region are blessed with an abundance of natural
resources. They are also beginning to develop the depth of leader-
ship necessary to effectively employ the complex tools of modern
technology. Many more leaders are needed however, and until they
are ready, the few must shoulder the burden of the many. But
even the so-called "teeming masses of Asia" need not necessarily
be a burden. They represent one of the great untapped labor forces
in the world today. If each nation can take the steps necessary to
harness this wealth of potential productivity, the trend toward
an increasingly unfavorable gap between Gross National Product
and population can be halted.
These goals must be, and I believe, will be realized. But the
challenge is immense and the problems staggering. It was the re-
cognition of these certain difficulties that pointed up the need for
8
PAGENO="0155"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 151
a regional organization for Asia; one which could absorb some of
the interim blows which are destined to befall any region which
undertakes such an auspicious task. I would now, therefore, like
to touch briefly on the role that the ADB will hope to play in the
pageant of Asian recovery.
Though the Bank is in its infancy, we do not wish to be spoon-
fed, nor would we be carried about on the backs of others. If we
are to be more than a casual observer of the* economic enlighten-
ment of this vast region, we must acquire the mental agility to
fashion our own decisions and chart our own course. However, like
any child, we depend upon those much older and wiser than our-
selves to encourage us through those first difficult steps toward
maturity. During the formative stages of our existence, we must
gird ourselves to live and work in concert with the growing com-
munity of international organizations throughout the world. No
one organization can presume to shoulder the challenge of effect-
ting regional cooperation. The urgency of the task, and the
magnitude of the need, demand a sea of common initiative, into
which the ADB will wholeheartedly channel its resources.
The path to development for any nation has many obstacles.
Monetary aid alone cannot get them over these hurdles. The most
valuable commodity that the Asian Development Bank can hope
to disburse is the technical knowledge to help others help them-
selves. A good example of this manner of assistance is the area
of pre-investment or feasibility studies. This is no small task.
Each developing nation labors under its own peculiar set of prob-
lems. Thus, if our prey is to be the Asian beast of poverty, we
must stalk it with a wide selection of weapons. This arsenal of
insight can only be built with exceptionally qualified personnel;
those capable of dealing effectively with the diversity inherent in
our region. The competition for such people is keen indeed. Their
services are in constant demand by their governments and by pri-
vate industry within their own country; not to mention the other
international organizations vying for their talents. Even though
our Asian character may suggest that we effect certain economies
regarding the number of people on the staff, we cannot afford
even the smallest sacrifice in the quality of our personnel. We
must meet the competition for manpower head on, striving to se-
cure people whose backgrounds will lend themselves to the im-
mense variety of regional, sub-regional, and national issues be-
fore us.
This diversity will also be a major determinant in the shap-
ing of the Bank's loan policy. Although I have expressed a desire
9
PAGENO="0156"
152 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
to reserve specific loan policy discussions for a later date, I do
want to emphasize at this time the need for versatility. The
nations of Asia are often mistakenly grouped together under the
vague heading of "underdeveloped". This term is wholly inade-
quate to describe the prevailing situations. The countries of our
region are presently undergoing numerous stages of economic ele-
vation. Even more diverse than the stages of this development are
the kinds of problems with which each country is confronted.
These problems are an outgrowth of their own particular cul-
tures and traditions,and spring from widely varying socio-econo-
mic environments. It is within this context that the ADB must
function. Just as the concept of Asia defies simple definition, it
also defies uniformity of loan policy administration. It is for this
rea~on that I hesitate to formulate any hard and fast rules govern-
ing the extension of credit. I think it is more fitting that we pro-
mise to do our best to appraise each and every loan situation on
its own merit.
A number of the distinguished Governors have referred to
the Special Funds category of loans provided for in the Charter.
There is no doubt that this will be a valuable tool in furthering
the Bank's objective of maximum capital mobilization for the eco-
nomic advancement of the region. As many of you have noted, the
present stage of many of the developing countries makes it impos-
sible for them to adhere to the terms of conventional loan agree-
ments. Particularly in the crucial area of agricultural and infra-
structure loans, the repayment schedule and interest rate struc-
ture of the hard loan category are apt to be self-defeating. If the
Bank is to effectively promote all facets of economic develop-
ment in the ECAFE region; it must be equipped to extend soft
loans in those cases where they are the only practical and realistic
solution. It is also clear that the Charter's limitation on soft loans
to 10 per cent of the Bank's total paid-in capital will not be suffi-
cient to satisfy the need. We, therefore, will actively seek Special
Funds contributions from member and non-member countries alike.
However, I would like to stress at this time that conven-
tional or hard loans are the material of which any bank's found-
ation must be constructed. History has shown us that the World
Bank was well-advised to concentrate its early efforts on this ca-
tegory. It was only after it had accumulated a substantial port-
folio of hard loans that the creation of IDA could become a
reality.
Furthermore, I believe the same policy line should be followed
with regard to the Bank's entry into the capital markets. I am
10
PAGENO="0157"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 153
encouraged by the presence of the large and impressive contingent
of investment bankers at this inaugural meeting. We look forward
to their able and far-sighted guidance in the many decisions that
lie ahead. It was pointed out at this conference that the World
Bank has raised some five billion dollars through the sale of its
bonds. This represents a significant portion of their total capital.
It is my fond hope that this institution will be able to cite a simi-
lar success, for it is certainly in keeping with the aforementioned
objective of mobilizing the maximum amount of capital. But, once
again, our credentials at this early stage in our existence are hard-
ly sufficient to compete effectively in the capital markets of the
world. It is toward the attainment of such a reputation that we
will exert every effort.
(Closing Renw~rks at the Inaugural Meeting of the Board of
Governors of the Asian Development Bank~, in Tokyo, November
24-26, 1966.
11
PAGENO="0158"
154 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
PATTERN FOR
PROSPERITY
The need for regional solidarity is more glaring now than
it has ever been. The chasm between the developed and the devol-
oping nations is widening every day. Many of the countries of
this region are falling desperately short of the five per cent annua'
economic growth rate projected by the United Nations. Compound-
ing this difficulty is the fact that population growth continues un-
daunted. Each day brings into Asia many new mouths to feed and
bodies to clothe, all from what is already a vastly inadequate store-
room. This gap must be plugged quickly, lest our ambition fall vic-
tim to the traditional sense of fatalistic resignation.
One means of bridging this gap is for the countries of this
region to work in concert. While we have to recognize the hetero-
geneous nature of the region, this does not preclude mutual co-
operation. In fact, this diversity can be an invaluable asset. The
effects of economic development in any one country are multiplied
when complemented by the wisdom and experience of other nations.
The recognition of this urgent need for cooperation is inhe-
rent in the Charter of the Asian Development Bank. It is our ex-
pressed purpose to serve Asia as a clearing house of common
understanding; not only between Asian and non-Asian countries,
but within our own region as well.
I believe we are headed in the right direction. The speed with
which the ADB grew from a dream to a reality serves notice to the
world that the spark of regional cooperation exists. It.now befalls
the Bank to kindle that spark with the fuel of international in-
sight, until it becomes a raging fire of collective endeavor.
Conditions are better suited to maximizing the effect of re-
gional cooperation today than they have ever been before. The
membership of the Asian Development Bank attests to that fact.
12
PAGENO="0159"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 155
For the first time in history, a large number of developed nations
throughout the world have joined together in recognition of the
importance of Asia's economic well-being.
There is no question that it is more palatable to the develop-
ing countries to accept funds from a multi-lateral institution. This
type of organization does not seek public acclaim for its services,
nor are there liable to be the onerous strings attached, which may
accompany bi-lateral aid. For practical reasons, bi-lateral arrange-
ments cannot be dismissed entirely. However, the advantages of
the multi-lateral approach, in terms of its broader and more apo-
litical viewpoint, cannot be over-emphasized.
Nevertheless, the onus of `the task of economic development
cannot fall entirely upon the shoulders of outsiders. The most en-
thusiastic regional or even world-wide efforts can never pretend
to be a substitute for enlightened national self-interest. Each
country is surely the most dependable guardian of its own fu-
ture. A development bank such as ours can perhaps provide a fresh
approach to an economic problem, or attempt to channel funds to
finance a solution. The burden, however, rests with each individual
nation to prepare itself to meet the challenge.
Even the willingness to discard the old order is not sufficient.
It is not enough that a nation merely realizes the need to generate
savings, and further, to invest them in profitable ventures. This
is only a beginning. The most difficult task is to actually lay aside
those savings. The sacrifices must be made, and the hardships en-
dured, if the people of this region are ever to enjoy a higher stan-
dard of living. And this economic revolution must be initiated
immediately, before the gap gets any wider.
The Asian Development Bank has a vested interest in this
revolution. I would, therefore, like to focus attention on the role
that the ADB hopes to play in that revolution, and how we can
best equip ourselves to meet the challenge.
At the Inaugural Meeting in Tokyo, last month, I expressed
a desire to visit all member nations as soon as possible. Since that
time, I have made two very profitable trips; one to the Republic
of Korea, and the other to the Republic of China. While in those
countries, I had occasion to speak with leaders of Government,
central bank, authorities, and representatives of the private sec-
tor. I would like to take this opportunity to thank both countries
for the warm and cordial hospitality they afforded me.
The purpose of these visits is threefold; (1) to gain a firmer
grasp of the economic climate in each country, (2) to listen to
each nation's views regarding the operation of the ADB, and (3)
13
PAGENO="0160"
156 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BAN}~ ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
to secure competent personnel to staff the Bank. Due to the im-
portance of these objectives, I feel it is essential to complete the
first round as soon as possible, hopefully within the space of a
few months. This means that, to cover the considerable number
of member countries, in this period of time, my sojourn in each
one may be relatively brief.
Nonetheless, I plan to resume this schedule in the latter part
of January. It is my intention to travel to three or four countries
at a time, returning to Manila after each trip. In this way, I hope
to remain in constant contact with the day to day operations of
the Bank; especially during the critical formative stages of its
existence.
However, during my absence, I have the utmost confidence
that the management of the Bank will be in able hands. I have
stressed before that it is not my intention to be extravagant with
respect to the number of staff members. For that matter, I feel
that the overall organizational structure of the Bank, particularly
in the early period, should be relatively simple. It is far easier to
progress from simplicity to complexity that it is to go from com-
plexity to simplicity.
At the same time, it is imperative that we do not compromise
the quality of the personnel. Toward that end, I believe that we
have been successful in assembling a small, but highly capable
official family already. The present staff members have the ñeces-
sary diversity, in terms of talent. Regarding diversity of national
origin, I will continue to strive for a wide geographical represen-
tation among the staff. This policy should not, however, take the
form of a rigid quota system which would, in any way, jeopardize
efficient recruitment.
There is no doubt that confidence in the Bank will be contin-
gent upon the amount of confidence in its staff. We will work di-
ligently tOward fostering this trust. It is my ardent desire that the
member countries will come to look upon the ADB as a kind
of "family doctor", who is ready to lend assistance whenever and
wherever the need arises. This posture demands a thorough fam-
iliarity with the economic attitudes and environment of each de-
veloping country. I believe this familiarity can best be bred by
endowing the Bank basically with a regional character, in terms
of its personnel. However, when it comes to making loans, I will
attempt, in principle, to avoid placing the decision in the hands
of a lending officer whose own country is involved.
There are two general areas where, if requested, we could
provide such assistance. The first is in acting in an advisory capa-
14
PAGENO="0161"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 157
city. It is my belief that, in many instances, sound advice is a far
more welcome and valuable antidote than hard cash. Consequently,
I plan to propose the establishment of a department within the
Bank which will devote a considerable amount of time and energy
to this area of activity.
According to the Charter, the funds available for services
which are, by nature, non-reimbursable, is limited to two per cent
of the paid-in capital, for the first five years of operation. This will
obviously leave us far short of the amount required to satisfy the
need. However, we are in a position to organize missions, jointly,
with other international organizations, to perform this vital func-
tion. For example, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
has already offered to make itself available to the Bank for such
joint efforts.
The second phase of our operation pertains to loans. The Bank
has considerable leeway with respect to the formulation of its
lending policy. The description of the Bank's financing function
in the Charter is quite broad in scope, and will enable us to cope
effectively with a wide range of situations. In pursuit of this goal,
I am reluctant to formulate any rigid loan policy, which would
needlessly restrict the Bank's flexibility.
There is only one basic policy to which I firmly adhere; name-
ly, to insure that each loan conforms to the principles of sound-
banking. We will endorse only those projects which are conceived
within the framework of valid economic* precepts. This is the only
way to establish the good credit of the Bank, and to thereby assure
the continuous flow of funds through our organization.
Regarding the size of each loan, it is important to bear in
mind three factors: (1) only one half of the subscribed capital
will actually be paid-in, (2) the amount paid-in is to be remitted
in five equal annual installments, and (3) of that amount, half
may be paid in local currency, which is not always readily conver-
tible into freely lendable funds. The result of these conditions is
that, for the first year of operations, the Bank will have at its dis-
posal for lending purposes, somewhere in the~ neighborhood of
IJ.S.$65 or $70 million.
Out of this amount~ I would like to meet the demands of as
many member countries as possible. This makes it inevitable that
*the size of each loan be limited to a reasonable amount. If, on the
other hand, the amount of the loan is too small, the comparatively
high servicing cost would make it uneconomical for the Bank. This
fact, however, does not preclude the possibility of channeling some
portion of our funds through existing national development banks.
15
90-614 O-68-------1l
PAGENO="0162"
158 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Up to this point, I have focused attention on the Bank's po..
hey with respect to its "ordinary capital resources" During our
early years, we must concentrate on establishing a reputation as
a sound banking institution This reputation will only come through
the wise and frugal employment of these funds However, I am
fully aware that we cannot deal with every situation within the
confines of conventional lending terms
A considerable number of countries are currently caught in
a vicious credit cycle, whereby a sigrnficant percentage of all new
funds is already committed to the servicing of existing debt
Moreover, some projects do not provide any appreciable benefits to
a nation's economy until many years after the initial investment
Thus, many countries are anxious to obtain soft loans, where the
repayment schedule is geared to the estimated time table of the
project, and the debt burden does not drain unduly on a shrinking
reservoir of capital
While provision has been made for the ADB to cope with this
situation, only 10 per cent of our paid-in capital is available for this
purpose In addition, the use of those funds is conditional upon
authorization by a two-thirds majority of the Board of Governors,
and that body has, as yet, taken no action on this provision We
must, therefore, rely on the creation of Special Funds i e, capital
resources over and above that subscribed Toward that end, I will
actively solicit contributions to this Fund, not only from member
countries, but from non-members as well I ardently hope that
those nations who did not join the Bank as subscribers, will also
exhibit their concern for the welfare of Asia through their gen-
erous participation in such Special Funds
If we are successful in attracting Special Funds contributions,
we will also be in a better position to lend the vital technical as-
sistan~e of which I spoke earlier This area of economic aid
is especially attractive, because the effects are substantial in pro-
portion to the amount of money expended
Regarding Special Funds, I would like to highlight the ini-
tiative taken by the Conference on Agricultural Development in
Southeast Asia, which met two weeks ago in Tokyo In its joint
communique, representatives of the nine participating nations
proposed to establish a fund "to be loaned with liberal terms for
agricultural development in Southeast Asia, as a special fund of
the Asian Development Bank" It is a great source of encourage-
ment to see that the nations of this region have already singled out
an area where the ADB can render a useful service I would like
to make a thorough study of this proposition
PAGENO="0163"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 159
The other channel of capital flow is through the international
money markets. I am encouraged by the interest shown already
by the investment banking community toward our endeavor. This
is certainly an area in which we would hope to actively participate
in the future. However, in light of the exceedingly tight market
conditions at present, I do not think it is practical for us to con-
sider this source of capital for the immediate future. Instead, the
ADB should exert every effort toward conducting its operations
in such a fashion that, when the climate is more favorable, the
Bank will be in a position to issue bonds on favorable terms. In
the interim, we are well-advised to keep abreast of all develop-
ments in the world monetary situation.
Before concluding my remarks, I would like to reiterate my
sincere appreciation, on behalf of the Bank, its officers, and staff,
to the Government of the Philippines, for providing us with such a
comfortable place in which to conduct our business. In addition, we
are extremely grateful for the privileges and immunities accorded
us. They will greatly facilitate our activities both here and abroad.
This opening ceremony marks the ground-breaking for the
construction of a bright new Asian age. With the tools of regional
cooperation, the nations of this region are beginning to build a
pyramid to prosperity. The Asian Development Bank has been
summoned to serve as a cornerstone in that pyramid's base. Words
are adequate mortar with which to fashion speeches, but actions
are the solid substance of which economic development is made.
So, let us now begin - or, in Tagalog, "Simulaan na natin
ngayon !"
(Statement at the Opening Ceremony of the Asian Dei,elop-
ment Bank, in Manila, on December 19, 1966.)
17
PAGENO="0164"
The* First Lady, Mrs. Imelda R. Marcos, cuts the ribbon at the opening ceremony of the ADB. Seen with
her from left to right are President Ferdinand F. Marcos of the Philippines (Guest of Honor), Mr. Watã~.
nabe, ADB Director Cornelio Balinaceda of the Philippines and Mrs. Watanctbe.
PAGENO="0165"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 161
GREAT
EXPECTATIONS
Since assuming the Presidency of the ADB, I have been over-
whelmed by the high expectations which have been vested in this
institution. While there is no doubt that this interest is pleasant
music to my ears, I sometimes get the impression that people ex-
pect me to pull development rabbits out of my hat. I must con-
fess that I am neither conjuror nor magician. There is no shortcut
to economic development. The only road to prosperity is long and
arduous, and demands the sweat and sacrifice of the developing
nations themselves if their aspirations are ever to become actual-
ity. The Asian Development Bank is only here to help.
How the Bank can best be of help is the issue. It is clearly evi-
dent that money alone is not sufficient salve to heal the economic
ills of Asia; a truly lasting cure demands a multitude of medica-
tions. However, as a bank, there is no doubt that our main con-
tribution will be in facilitating the flow of money. The best laid
plans of any entrepreneur become purely academic and quite ane-
mic without the proper flow of funds with which to implement
them. We are well aware of the vast needs of this region, require-
ments which even a billion dollar capitalization can only begin to
sate.
It is within this framework that I would like to address my
remarks today; namely, how can the ADB make the most meaning-
ful contribution to economic development with its limited resour-
ces, and what steps can be taken to expand and augment that ca-
pital base?
There is a fear amongst the members of this region that the
Asian Development Bank will do little more than serve as a sub.
stitute for the existing stream of capital inflow. If, for example,
ADB loans merely replace World Bank loans, the total of available
financial resources will remain static. This is, however, not at all
the intention of our founders. It was their design to create an
entirely new institution which could attract additional capital to
Asia; not simply to rechannel existing funds.
19
PAGENO="0166"
162 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
The Asian Development Bank has in its till, at this moment,
somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 million dollars available for
making loans; In August of the current year, this figure will
double, as the second of five annual installments comes due from
the member countries. How quickly we can anticipate tapping this
reservoir depends upon the progress of the organization and staff
of the Bank, as. well as upon the availability of well-conceived loan
applications.
It goes without saying that, when making a decision on any
loan, we should ensure that the new funds will inject health and
vitality into the economic bloodstream of the recipient country. In
other words, it is not enough that the new funds, in and of them-
selves, add resources to the economy. They should also serve to
stimulate the flow of national savings into useful investments.
Money which might otherwise have been dissipated in non-produc~.
tive consumption, can thus be channeled into productive enter-
prises. It is my hope that the far-sighted businessmen in this
region will peer through the deceiving mist of today's relatively
simple satisfactions, and perceive the long-lasting benefits that
true ecQnomic well-being can bring to a society.
The stimulus of ADB loans should not be limited solely to
encouraging the flow of domestic capital. They should, as well, in-
stigate a greater influx of international funds, from both the pub-
lic and the private sectors.
In the public sector, the Asian Development Bank is pre-
pared to operate in concert with other international organizations
and with governments. It is anticipated that our Bank, as a re-
gional institution, will be able first to pinpoint appropriate pro-
jects, and then to take the initiative in enlisting other organiza-
tions or governments to participate in that particular financial
venture.
Private investment, at the international level, is also a useful
tool for increasing the capital resources of the region. However, as
you well know, this particular endeavor has its drawbacks, both
for the investor and for the recipient.
From the investor's point of view, the risks are frequently
more substantial than those incurred in domestic investment. In
that regard, it may provide the necessary assurance for foreign
investors if the ADB were to assume the role of a joint investor.
Technically, the Bank can tender a joint equity investment or even
offer to guarantee a loan to the private sector. However, although
these operations are within the scope of our versatile functions, I
hesitate to embark on such a course at this stage of our existence.
20
PAGENO="0167"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 163
I would prefer to reserve those alternatives until we have gathered
the necessary experience to make proper and efficient use of them.
Private investment from international sources also causes
some concern from the standpoint of the recipient, particularly
when the country sees it as a challenge to budding nationalism.
But, here again, either the sanction or the outright participation
of the ADB can serve to pour oil on any troubled waters, in the
sense that an organization such as ours is designed to be aloof
from national interests.
Thus far, I have highlighted the role of the Asian Development
Bank as a catalyst for the mobilization of a larger supply of ca-
pital for investment in the welfare of this region. In order to
`achieve the higher standard of living envisioned by us all, gross na-
tional product must be made to increase at a faster rate than pop-
ulation growth. In the face of Asia's mushrooming masses, a mo-
numental effort is required merely to maintain the all-too-meager
status quo. To remedy this situation, the GNP of the region must
increase by at least four to five per cent per annum. In order to
realize this goal, new investment must occur at a rate three times
that of national income growth. It is no easy task for many devel-
oping countries to attract new investment at the rate of 12 to 15
per cent of its national income. Therefore, it becomes more ap-
parent than ever that the success of the ADB depends, not so much
upon the amount of money that it can inject directly into an econ-
omy, but rather, upon the funds which it can induce to flow into
the region by virtue of its function as a catalyst.
it is, nonetheless, important for the ADB to consider increas.
ing its own resources as well, and I will strive diligently and with-
out pause to do this. Fundamental to the constant search for new
funds is the posture of the Bank as a sound financial institution,
for, if we exhaust our reputation through careless management, we
can rest-assured that the financial well will soon run dry. In order
to ensure the perpetual flow of funds, we must step cautiously and
advisedly, even at the risk of appearing overly conservative, lest
our life be snuffed out as quickly as it began.
There are three basic ways that the Bank can replenish or sup-
plement its resources; the first is through bond issues, the second,
Special Funds, and the third, the direct increase of capital subscrip-
tions. While only one half of the subscribed capital is actually to
be paid-in, the other half, which is designated as callable shares, is
not without utility. It represents a pledge by the member countries
to come to the aid of the ADB, if it should fail to meet its own obli-
gations. In that manner, any borrowing by the Bank is guaranteed
21
PAGENO="0168"
164 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
by each member country to the extent of that member's share of
callable capital.
It is against this security, that, at the proper time, the ADB
expects to issue its bonds. I cannot, at this moment, forecast when
the placement of these bonds in the market will occur. Although
some improvement is recognizable of late, the world money market
conditions are still exceedingly tight. Under these circumstances,
I believe the wisest course is for the Bank to concern itself with
forging a high credit standing, to pave the way for future offerings
on favorable terms.
A more immediate source of additional capital for the Bank is
Special Funds. As I have said, we must test our mettle in the arena
of conventional lending, before we shoulder additional responsibi-
lity. However, we will eventually be called upon to enter the so-
called "soft loan" field, because it is an integral segment of the
total development picture. In this connection, it is extremely en-
couraging to note two recent developments which could affect the
ADB: The first is the joint communiqué of the Conference on Agri-
cultural Development in Southeast Asia, which met in Tokyo on
December 6, which suggests that the Asian Development Bank as-
sume the leadership in administering an Agricultural Development
Fund. The second is the reference to the ADB made by President
Johnson, of the United States, in his State of the Union Message,
delivered on January 10. He said, and I quote:
"The doors of the billion dollar Asian Development Bank
that I recommended to the Congress, and which you en-
dorsed almost unanimously, I am proud to tell you, are
open. Asians are engaged tonight in regional efforts in a
dozen new directions. Their hopes are high. Their faith
is strong. Their confidence is deep."
He went on to state,
"If other nations will join us, I will seek a special author-
ization from the Congress of 200 million dollars for East
Asian regional programs."
If, after tapping all other sources, the Bank still requires addi-
tional funds, it will be possible to seek an increase in the capital
subscription. However, I feel a discussion of this alternative would
be premature at this time, especially in light of the options I have
mentioned previously. I would like instead to re-emphasize the con-
siderable import of the prudent and discreet behavior of the Bank,
for this is the surest path to a fruitful and long-lasting life.
(Speech a~t the Mak~tti Rotary Club on Jan'uary 24, 1967.)
22
PAGENO="0169"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 165
GRO UND WORK
FOR
GROWTH
I am indeed grateful and honored to have the opportunity to
address this Twenty-third Session of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Asia and the Far East. It is a personal testimony
to the accomplishments of your distinguished Secretary-General,
U Nyun, that Asia, today, is a bustling bee-hive of concerted activi-
ty, in the awareness that regional cooperation is the seed from
which Asian economic prosperity will blossom and flourish.
We, at the Asian Development Bank, are humbled by the
knowledge that, as we are about to turn the corner on our first
half-year of existence, ECAFE, is, this week, commemorating its
twentieth year of enlightened endeavor. As we ponder the history
of organizations like yours and the IBRD, who have logged at least
two decades of faithful and meaningful service to the international
community, we are inspired to build an institution worthy of com-
parison with her elder sisters.
The purpose of my remarks today is to report on the progress
of the Bank, to date, in pursuit of that goal. This is first such re-
port that has yet been rendered, and I think it only fitting that it
be delivered in Tokyo, the very same city and the same room in
which we were inaugurated less than six months ago. The same
combination of careful coordination and warm hospitality is in
evidence at this Session, which was so important to the newly-
crowned Asian Development Bank, as it entered the world of inter-
national finance.
At the conclusion of the Inaugural Meeting, on November 26,
I appointed some eight temporary staff with which to commence
operations. Shortly after that, we moved operations to Manila, the
permanent headquarters-seat of the Bank. There, we had our first
taste of Filipino hospitality; a taste equal in every respect to its
considerable reputation. With the President of the Philippines and
23
PAGENO="0170"
166 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
the First Lady cutting the ribbon, the doors of the Asian Develop-
ment Bank were officially opened for business on December 19,
1966.
On that date, we took up temporary residence in the Metro-
politan Bank Building, in Makati, a showcase of modern urban de-
velopment, located a few kilometers from the center of Manila.
Far from temporary in appearance, the building provides the ADB
with ample facilities in which to conduct its interim affairs, pend-
ing completion of the permanent headquarters, to be erected by the
host government. At this moment, a contest is being held under
the auspices of the Philippine Government, to select an architectu-
ral design for the building. It is currently projected that the per-
manent structure will be ready for occupancy by December, 1969.
With the physical details being so adequately attended to by
our hosts, it then befell the Bank to devise a suitable organiza-
tional structure. I am both pleased and proud to report that we are
well along with that task. I mentioned in Tokyo that it was my
intention to begin operations with a rather unencumbered organ-
izational structure, in the belief that it was better-suited to an
infant institution. In keeping with that policy, the ADB is cur-
rently composed of only six departments. In addition to the Offices
of President and Vice President, we are functioning with the Of-
fice of the Secretary, the General Counsel, the Operations Depart-
ment, the Economic and Technical Assistance Department, the Ad-
ministration Department, and the Treasury. Consistent with the
pattern of other international organizations, we believe that form
will follow function, in dictating further additions to or expan-
sions in that structure.
Up to this point, the efforts of the Bank have centered on the
so-called "housekeeping" details; that is, the formulation of suit-
able internal policies. Toward that end, we have been successful,
with the aid of other sister institutions, in establishing appropriate
staff benefits, an internal accounting procedure, and other admin-
istrative arrangements befitting the size of our organization.
Having laid the essential groundwork, we are now in a posi-
tion to concentrate on the critical task of operational policy and
recruitment. The Operations Department and the Economic and
Technical Assistance Department are beginning to take shape, and
we hope to look more like a banking institution by this summer.
In other words, if we continue to progress in line with current es-
timates, we would be able to contemplate, sometime in the fall,
dispatching a mission to investigate the economic environment
in a particular country. The aim of such a mission would be to
24
PAGENO="0171"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 167
identify a suitable development project, which the Bank could then
proceed to process.
We are highly encouraged by the cooperative overtures re-
ceived to date from other international organizations. The Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO), for instance, has repeatedly
expressed keen interest in combining resources in projects of mu-
tual interest, and representatives of other international bodies,
such as the World Bank, have earnestly stressed the need for co-
operation among members of the international development com-
munity. However, while there is no doubt that cooperation is a
desirable and useful tool for economic development, I am confident
that other international organizations will appreciate that the
Asian Development Bank has its own unique responsibilities and,
therefore, must have its own clear~.cut and independent institutional
identity.
Within the framework of the organization I have outlined
above, we have been successful in enlisting the aid of the high
caliber of staff I envisioned at the time of my election. We have,
so far, recruited approximately eighty staff members. Including
the ten Directors and their ten Alternates, the Bank's total person-
nel now reaches one hundred. Of the eighty, who have been re-
cruited, roughly twenty fall into the professional category and
have been selected from about a dozen different countries. In addi-
tion we have engaged some sixty Filipino, non-professional staff.
I might add that we continue to be impressed with the uniform
high quality of the local clerical staff.
Current projections call for close to sixty professional and
one hundred non-professional staff to conduct operations in 1967.
It is anticipated that the bulk of the professional positions will be
filled within the next few months. However, there are still several
opportunities available, primarily in the technical categories. It
has been a source of considerable pleasure and encouragement to
witness the growing interest in the Asian Development Bank, as
evidenced in the large number of applications from member coun-
tries.
Turning to the capital structure of the Bank, at the Inaugural
Meeting in Tokyo, the authorized capital was increased from
tT.S.$1,000 million to $1,100 million, to allow for the admission of
additional members. We are constantly seeking new members with
which to broaden the capital base of the Bank for the purposes
of development. Of the $1.1 billion of authorized capital, the ori-
ginal members subscribed $965 million, one half of which will take
the form of paid-in capital, and the other half of which will remain
25
PAGENO="0172"
168 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
as callable shares, to act as security for the obligations of the Bank.
The paid-in portion is to be remitted in five equal, annual install-
ments, and 50 per cent of each annual installment must be made
in convertible currency. Thus, at the time of the Inaugural Meet-
ing, the Bank had slightly in excess of $50 million which could be
termed freely investible funds. The balance was in the form of non-
interest-bearing promissory notes.
Since the Bank has not been in a position to process applica-
tions for credit, it has consequently not been called upon to dis-
burse loan funds. The capital has instead been invested, since No-
vember, in the money markets of member countries, and has been
earning at an average rate of nearly six per cent per annum. The
bulk of the funds has been invested in short-term government
securities, and the remainder in time deposits.
On August 22 of the current year, the second installment of
the capital subscription falls due, bringing the total of the Bank's
investible currency to just under $100 million. Our rate of earning
for the balance of the year may be diminished to some extent by
the fact that rates in the major money markets are easing, and
the trend is expected to continue in the near future. In general,
the Bank is prohibited by the Articles of Agreement from shifting
its investible funds solely for the purposes of seeking more attrac-
tive interest rate structures.
The other major order of business was my proposed visit to
the regional member countries. This trip commenced immediately
after the Inaugural Meeting, and was completed in the latter part
of March. As outlined in my acceptance statement in Tokyo, the
trip had a threefold purpose: 1) to gain a more comprehensive
understanding of the economic climate in each country, 2) to soli-
cit the views of the member countries on the ADB, and 3) to aid
in recruitment. This trip was, in my opinion, extremely worth-
while, enabling me to confer with leaders of government and pri-
vate industry, as well as providing ample opportunity to fam-
iliarize myself with the various economic and social situations in
the member countries.
During the course of these visits, I was made profoundly cog-
nizant of the urgent need for agricultural development, including
the development of fisheries. Most of the countries of this region
function within the ëontext of agro-based economies, not only from
the standpoint of national income, but in the historical and cul-
tural sense as well. And yet, though agricultural skills are rela-
tively abundant in comparison with the ability to adapt to the
techniques of industrialization, population growth continues to out-
26
PAGENO="0173"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 169
strip the increase in productivity by almost two to one in this re-
gion.
I was further impressed by the fact that those economies
which are experiencing the so-called "take-off", have been launched
from a firm agricultuial foundation. Those countries recognized
that their indigenous agricultural structures possessed the poten-
tial for immediate increases in income, and were careful to en-
dorse what may be termed the "essentials of agricultural develop-
ment". By this, I mean that they performed accurate analyses of
their particular stage of development, ensuring that at least a mi-
nimum level of infrastructure, such as irrigation, flood control,
feeder roads, etc., had been established. Having met those basic
requirements, it then became expedient to focus attention on the
more direct methods of increasing crop production; namely, fer-
tilizers, increased crop varieties, insecticides, and so on. Moreover,
it became apparent to those countries that the strategy of develop-
ment was perhaps the most important phase of planning, since
intensification of agricultural input is often nullified without at
least a minimum of infrastructural groundwork.
This is not to say that agricultural development should be en-
couraged to the exclusion of industrialization. In fact, it would ap-
pear that complete integration of development planning is essen-
tial, if the nations of this region are ever to enjoy the well-balanced
economies for which we all strive. For, increasing crop production
depends integrally on the agricultural input industry for its fer-
tilizers, chemicals, and machinery, and upon the agricultural out-
put-processing industry for rendering the product more readily ex-
portable. This includes facilities for milling rice, canning fruits and
vegetables and a host of others.
Another application of integrated development, whereby coun-
tries endeavor to co-ordinate their development planning, is in the
area of the multi-national project. One of the evils that plague this
region is either the absence altogether or at least severe fragmen-
tation of the market for a country's export produce. Just as agri-
cultural planning demands considerable attention to the problems
of marketing as an incentive to increase crop production, the manu-
facturing industries of Asia are facing a stagnating, if not shrink-
ing market. Part of the problem stems from duplication of capi-
tal expenditures in several countries to establish industries whose
products are already battling to enter a glutted marketplace.
The multi-national project provides a partial solution to this
dilemma. This type of project has particular significance for the
transportation industry. For example, a group of neighboring na-
27
PAGENO="0174"
170 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
tions might form a consortium, aided possibly by ADB financing,
to initiate and manage a common civilian air or sea transport sys-
tem, or to promote an international deep-sea fishing fleet. As Asia
continues to mature and consolidate as a homogeneous regional
unit, removing many of the existing national barriers to concerted
economic energies, the multi-national industrial project should
play an increasingly vital and meaningful role in the scheme of
development. It boasts the advantages of eliminating needless du-
plication of limited capital investment, realizing measurable eco-
nomies of scale, and employing the already scarce commodity of
technical assistance most profitably.
I have outlined above several approaches to the economic de-
velopment of the region. This is not to say that, from the view-
point of Asian Development Bank policy, they are the only pro-
jects on which we are disposed to concentrate our efforts. How-
ever, I have highlighted them for two reasons:
1) They represent realistic solutions to economic problems;
in the past, nations of this region have been wont to un-
dertake prestige projects, such as the development of
heavy industry, which demand vast capital outlays and
produce no appreciable benefits to a developing country for
many years. It seems to me that the countries which have
endorsed the more realistic approaches are better able to
cope with their immediate income needs and can more
easily finance the transition to a well-balanced economy,
which eventually includes the prestigious heavy industry,
2) Those type of projects, since they do not require substan-
tial capital resources, are particularly well-suited to the
"ordinary capital resources" of the Asian Development
Bank; since we are limited to loans of a reasonable amount
for the time being, we must consider the project which,
although regional or sub-regional in scope, is not insatiable
in its thirst for funds. Either the development of a new
kind of seed, investment in basic or applied research, or
the multi-national industrial project could provide suitable
subjects for ADB investment.
However, the point has been emphasized, and is well-taken,
that a major segment of development, particularly agriculture and
infrastructure expenditures, cannot sustain conventional debt fi-
nancing. Such projects cannot shoulder the burden of debt servic-
ing imposed by conventional interest rates, and neither can they
expect to pay down a loan in line with conventional maturities. It
is further apparent that the 10 per cent of the ADB's "ordinary
28
PAGENO="0175"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 171
capital resources", earmarked for soft loan financing, can, even
when authorized by the floard of Directors, satisfy no more than
a token amount of the need.
Thus, we are determined to actively solicit contributions to the
Special Funds portion ofthe Bank's resources. We are heartily en-
couraged by the response already voiced by a number of the de-
veloped countries. In his State of the Union Message, delivered to
the U.S. Congress on January 10 of this year, President Johnson
indicated his intention to seek a $200 million appropriation from
Congress for the development of East Asia, to be a Special Fund
of the Asian Development Bank. This fund, as proposed, is not
restricted exclusively to the development of agriculture, and could
thus have broad application to the advancement of our efforts in
the region. Another indication of support in the soft loan field
is Japan's expressed willingness to sponsor the financing of an
Agricultural Development Fund. This Fund was first formally de-
picted in the joint communiqué of the Conference on Agricultural
Development in Southeast Asia, convened in Tokyo in the latter
part of 1966. There has been widespread interest exhibited by the
developed countries in these and other suggested Special Funds,
and their support inspires us to relentlessly strive to tap all avail-
able sources of capital for the region.
However, it will be some time before these Special Fund pro-
posals become a tangible reality. Aside from any formalities which
may cause delay for the contributing countries, each overture must
be investigated thoroughly from the point of ADB policy, in the
interest of maintaining continuity with the underlying philosophy
of the Bank, as embodied in its Charter.
In the meantime, there are two pressing needs to which we
can devote considerable attention. First of all, in preparation for
our eventual entry into the international bond market, an equally
valuable source of additional capital, we are well-advised not to
neglect the principles of sound banking. We will, therefore, pay all
due regard to the formulation and efficient implementation of an
intelligent conventional loan policy, in order to foster confidence
amongst members of the international financial community.
Secondly, an urgent plea for technical assistance can be heard
in many developing countries. We are anxious to mobilize funds
from outside sources to enable the Bank to conduct pre-invest-
ment activities for project preparation and development. Through-
out the course of my visits to the member nations, I discerned that,
in some instances, countries could attract the necessary develop-
ment financing readily-enough on their own, but either are hard
29
PAGENO="0176"
172 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
put to pinpoint the exact need, or are unable to articulate the need
for present projects in a form which satisfies the requirements of
international financing institutions. It is, moreover, of critical im-
portance that international organizations endeavor to co-ordinate
their assistance with the recipient country's own development
priority structure, lest the pace of progress be impeded by any
conflict of competing views. Thus the ADB will endeavor diligently
to bring an increasing amount of its own weight to bear on the
problem of providing ample technical assistance.
I do not wish to consume any more of your valuable time, ex-
cept to reiterate my gratitude to this distinguished body for allow-
ing me to outline the efforts of the Asian Development Bank as
it has begun to scratch the organizational surface. At the Inaugu-
ral Meeting of the Bank, I spoke of the pride with which we ac-
cepted the mantle of responsibility bestowed upon us, and the
humility with which we would endeavor to wear it. At this time,
I would like to make a special note of the invigorating stream of
enthusiasm and encouragement, flooding into the Bank from all
quarters, and to renew my pledge to channel that flow into the
mainstream of our own zeal and determination, to produce a tor-
rent of fertile contributions to the development of this region.
(Speech a~t the Twenty-third See~rion of the United Na~tions
Eco~iiomic Co9nmiss~ for Asia and the Far East, in Tokyo, April
3-17 1967.)
PAGENO="0177"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 173
SPECIAL FUNDS:
THE
CRITICAL
PLUS
On behalf of the Asian flevelopment Bank I wish to extend
our greetings and good wishes to this conference. The countries
represented here are important constituents of the Bank. and have
played a vital role in its formation. The concern of this session,
the economic advancement of the Asian community that you
represent, is indeed a major part of our ctncern and your delibera-
tions will, therefore, be of the utmost interest to us in our role as
an effective instrument to promote the economic progress of your
countries and of Asia. I wish you will be able to find the time
during your stay to m~3t our Directors and staff. I do hope we
can repay even a little of the warm hospitality that your countries
so generously extended to me during my recent visits.
Ten days ago I returned from the Annual M~eeting of ECAFE
in Tokyo. No one who attended that meeting can fail to sense the
accelerating support in Asia for effective programs of economic
development and regional cooperation. I know that this is an im-
portant theme in your meeting here in Manila.
I can assure you that the Asian Development Bank is fitting
itself out to respond to these demands for action on development
programs. We have appointed almost all our principal staff officers
and have begun to consider operating policy questions. We are as-
sembling an inventory of the presently available studies on de-
velopment activities and programs in our developing member coun-
tries. Before many months, we expect to have missions visiting a
number of our member countries to consuft with governments on
the role that the Bank can play in furthering economic develop-
31
90-614 O-68----12
PAGENO="0178"
174 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
ment, not only generally, but also specifically with regard to iden-
tifiable schemes of economic aid and of technical assistance.
During the Inaugural Session in Tokyo and in the course of
my visit to the regional developing countries, one specific field of
economic activity to which, almost without exception, all govern-
ments attached the highest priority was that of agriculture. The
importance that this sector has for economic growth as a whole
has now come to be widely appreciated. To this appreciation, a
new dimension of urgency has been added by the critical situation
that is emerging in respect of food supplies. Unless greater im-
petus can be given to rapid expansion of food supplies to cater to
swiftly increasing populations, not only economic growth but the
very stability of society will be imperilled. The Asian Develop-
ment Bank, as a servant of the Asian community, can and does
enter fully into the sense of urgency and anxiety that the Asian
nations feel about agricultural growth. In particular, we wish to
be responsive to the Conference that your Governments had last
December in Tokyo on the problems of agricultural development
where, as you recall, your representatives discussed the possibility
of special funds for agriculture to be administered by the Asian
Development Bank.
Shortly after that Conference, the Japanese Ambassador to
the Philippines formally requested the Asian Development Bank
"to start immediately deliberation on various problems
concerning the establishment of the (special) fund, giv-
ing due consideration to the views of the participating
countries of the Conference as well as of other interested
parties such as developed countries or international or-
ganizations."
The Ambasador went on to say that "Japan as the host country
of the Conference, has already requested other developed member
countries of the Asian Development Bank to give favorable con-
sideration to the establishment of the fund ~"
Previously, at the Inaugural Meeting of the Asian Develop-
ment Bank in Tokyo last November, a number of our Governors
spoke about the desirability of the Bank's having Special Funds
resources. I myself commented at that Meeting:
"A number of the distinguished Governors have re-
ferred to the Special Funds category of loans provided
for in the Charter. There is no doubt that this will be a
valuable tool in furthering the Bank's objective of maxi-
mum capital mobilisation for the economic advancement
of the region. As many of you have noted, the present
32
PAGENO="0179"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 1Th
stage of many of the developing countries makes it im-
possible for them to adhere to the terms of conventional
loan agreements. Particularly in the crucial area of ag-
ricultural and infrastructure loans, the repayment sched-
ule and interest rate structure of the hard loan category
are apt to be self-defeating. If the Bank is to effectively
promote all facets of economic development in the ECA-
FE region, it must be equipped to extend soft loans in
those cases where they are the only practical and realistic
solution. It is also clear that the Charter's limitation on
soft loans to 10 per cent of the Bank's total paid-in cap-
ital will not be sufficient to satisfy the need. We there-
fore, will actively seek Special Funds contributions from
member and non-member countries alike."
My original view has been confirmed on my recent visits to
Asian regional members where interest in Special Funds for agri-
cultural development in particular has been widespread. It would
appear that in some of our member countries it may not be suit-
able for the Bank to extend much beyond technical assistance until
it has Special Fund resources.
I also stated at that same Inaugural Meeting, in accepting of-
fice as President of the Bank, that my prime aim in these early
years will be to build a credit-worthy lending instifution capable
on its own of raising funds for Asian development in the capital
markets of the world. I do not believe, however, that the availability
to the Bank in the near future of supplementary resources for fi-
nancing projects on more liberal terms would in any way conflict
with this aim. The Inter-American Development Bank's credit
worthiness has not been adversely affected by its acceptance of
Special Funds at an early point in its development. The Special
Funds of course, would be entirely separate from our Ordinary
Funds. I would regard it as essential to require the same degree of
carefulness in testing the soundness of projects financed from Spe-
cial Funds as applies to projects financed from the Bank's ordi-
nary capital resources. Furthermore, each specific use of any Spe-
cial Fund that the Bank may have should be supported by the same
type of staff studies and recommendations as would be required
for the ordinary operations of the Bank.
I am happy to announce to you that at the most recent meet-
ing of our Board of Directors, the Board accepted in principle the
idea of Special Agricultural Funds to be administered by the Asian
Development Bank. We at the Bank hope that following our meet-
33
PAGENO="0180"
176 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANIC ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
ing in Manila, and the Bank's own positive reaction to such a Fund,
potential donor countries can now respond to your initiative on a
matter of such vital importance to the well-being of Asia. We re-
cognize that the response will be voluntary and will require time
for appropriate executive and legislative action in donor countries.
In the discussion on this subject, the Board of Directors of
the Bank felt that it would be undesirable to restrict the Bank's
use of such Special Funds to certain members. The Bank recog-
nizes the urgency of the problems of agricultural development in
your countries. It will also necessarily take into account views of
any donor country with respect to special emphasis.
We would certainly hope that both you and the donor coun-
tries will assist the Bank in the arduous task of making the best
use of the Special Funds. Our own staff has been kept deliberate-
ly small. We will need to make use of your experts in completing
the studies required before disbursing these funds. We are now
proceeding to establish a small panel of experts from both the re-
cipient and potential donor countries to meet with us periodically
to advise on Special Fund programs for agriculture.
At this time it would be premature to go into detail about any
funds, or the Bank's program for using the funds. The Board has
already begun to examine the framework for Bank policy with
respect to the complex questions associated with the shape and
conditions of any funds that may be offered, as well as the possible
uses of funds. On the basis of this work already underway and
studies that will be shortly begun, I hope to be able to provide all
our members with a better idea of possible programs and to ask
prospective donors for contributions.
At this time, I conceive that Special Funds will provide
loans on concessional terms, as well as some grants, particularly to
meet the great demands for technical assistance to agriculture.
This technical assistance might be in such areas as promoting
research, in training extension workers and educating farmers to
use improvements, in carrying out project feasibility studies, and
in many other fields. I would only want to re-emphasize here what
I have already said and what I am sure you will support: namely
that the "softness" of this Special Fund be in the financial terms
of assistance, and not in the rigour of the evaluation of the pro-
ject or the conditions necessary to use the assistance effectively.
It is also clear that the assistance cannot be in substitution of what
can, and must, be done in your own countries by way of self help.
I ani happy to have been able to announce to you the impor-
tant decision of our Board with respect to the Special Agricultural
34
PAGENO="0181"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 177
Funds, which is to me a clear sign of the progress that has been
made. This is an auspicious start; but there is much work to be
done and, in this work, as I stated, I hope we will have the benefit
of both your advice and your experts. With that help, I believe
we can continue to make progress toward the actual establishment
of Special Funds for agriculture. We must base our appeals to
donors and our future decisions on a clear, coherent, and well-docu-
mented program of action. We in the Bank shall bend our efforts
to the preparation of such a program; in so doing, we shall be in
constant touch with your Governments. My colleagues and I in
the Bank count heavily on your understanding and goodwill, on
your receptiveness to our thoughts, your critical analysis and val-
uable comments on our proposals, and, not least of all, upon your
sustained support of our endeavors to be of service to you.
(Statement at the Second Ministerial Conference for Econom-
ic DeTelopment of Southeast Asia, in Manila, April 26-28, 1967.)
35
PAGENO="0182"
178 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
36
PAGENO="0183"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 179
STRATEGY
FOR
SUCCESS
As you are aware, last week, this country hosted the Second
Ministerial Conference for Economic Development in Southeast
Asia. A major item on the agenda was the previously-proposed Ag-
ricultural Development Fund, to be a special fund administered
by the ADB. In my statement to that conference, I was pleased to
report that our Board of Directors "accepted in principle the idea of
special agricultural funds to be administered by the Asian Develop-
ment Bank". In so doing, the Board officially acknowledged the
obvious and pressing need for agricultural development in this re-
gion, and pledged the Bank to lend the full weight of its support
to this area of endeavor.
However, I would like to take this opportunity to pause in the
discussion of special funds, to reiterate the function of the Asian
Development Bank as a source of standard conventional loans.
I am afraid that, amidst the current attention being directed
to possible special funds contributions from some of the developed
countries, there is a tendency to overlook the fact that the bulk of
the ADB's existing capital constitutes its "ordinary capital re-
sources".
At the Inaugural Meeting in Tokyo, the authorized capital of
the Bank was increased from $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion, in anticipa-
tion of the admission of new members. Of that amount, $965 mil-
lion was actually subscribed, half of which will take the form of
paid-in capital, payable in five equal annual installments. Fifty
percent of the paid-in portion must be remitted in gold or con-
vertible currency, and the remaining 50 per cent may be paid in
local currency or promissory notes.
By the time the ADB commenced operations, the first install-
ment had been paid-in, realizing roughly $50 million in freely in-
vestible funds. On August 22 of the current year, the second in-
stallment falls due, which is expected to bring the total of inves-
tible funds to just under $100 million.
37
PAGENO="0184"
180 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
Out of those "ordinary capital resources", the Charter per-
mits the segregation of 10 per cent of the paid-in capital for special
funds; i.e., loans provided under more liberal credit terms. And
even that relatively small amount is dependent upon authorization
by the Board of Governors, an authorization as yet not given to
the Bank.
We are, therefore, especially grateful for the indications of
special funds contributions currently pending, and will continue to
actively seek such contributions in the future.
However, this concern with special funds does not forecast
any departure from the role of the Bank as envisioned by its
founders. Neither does it herald an amendment of my own deter-
mination to adhere to that role.
In my first speech as President of the Bank, I stated that
"conventional or hard loans are the material of which any bank's
foundation must be constructed". That statement has no less sig-
nificance now than it did then. In fact, in order to attract the vital
incremental sources of capital, it remains essential that we concen-
trate on acquiring, and managing successfully, a portfolio of con-
ventional loans, consistent with the precedent set by other inter-
national financial institutions.
Furthermore, even though our present paid-in capital position
limits the amount of each loan to several million dollars, I con-
tinue to be of the firm belief that the Bank can and will make a
valid and significant contribution to the economic development of
the region through its "ordinary capij~al resources",
This conviction was sustained b:4: my recent series of trips
to the regional member countries. In addition to aiding measurably
in our efforts to recruit competent staff, those visits shed valuable
light on the economic climate in the region, and afforded leaders
of those nations an excellent opportunity to voice their own devel-
opment objectives and priorities,
Through those discussions, as well as visits to a selected num-
ber of development schemes, the spotlight was focused on the very
real need for agricultural and basic infrastructural financing,
While it is unquestionably true that the bulk of this phase of de-
velopment demands the extended terms and low interest rates
characteristic of soft loans, there is still ample scope for the ap-
plication of the Bank's conventional loan resources.
It is, moreover, vitally important that all available resources
be brought to bear on the problem of increasing the food production
of this region at a rate at least matching, if not exceeding, the
38
PAGENO="0185"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 181
current rate of population expansion. Equally as significant, how-
ever, is the fact that a healthy agricultural sector provides the
foundation from which industrialization can be launched.
Many developing countries have recently expressed concern
over the fact that they appear to be interminably destined to sup-
ply only raw materials to the developed countries, and are being
deprived of their share in the export of manufactured goods.
Equally as disheartening is the experience of countries who,
in their haste to industrialize, often sought the establishment of
heavy industry as an economic remedy. They quickly discovered
that, while heavy industry may enhance the prestige of the na-
tion, it accomplishes little else unless predicated on a stable and
prosperous agricultural community.
Particularly in the early phases of industrialization, manu-
facturers must enjoy the benefit of a domestic market, with suffi-
cient purchasing power to absorb their goods. A strong domestic
market is especially important in the formative stage of indus-
trialization, when producers have not yet mastered labor costs
and quality control to the point where their products become com-
petitive in the international marketplace. There is no doubt that
a prosperous agricultural community will constitute the broad
base of this market.
I should like, therefore, to underscore the mutual inter-depen-
dence of agriculture and industry, the former seeking low cost, do-.
mestically-produced goods to serve as import substitutes, and the
latter relying on domestic consumption as the cornerstone of its
market structure. To concentrate on one sector to the exclusion
of the other, can only retard the progress of the nation's overall
economic development, and, thus, stifle the essential increase in
the standard of living.
Based upon the income derived from domestic consumption,
the infant industry can afford to finance the necessary research
and development expenses required to render its product more eligi-
ble to compete in the markets of the world.
At this point, the responsibility accrues to the developed na-
tions to adopt an enlightened attitude toward their developing
neighbors. It is critical to the cause of development that, when the
developing country's manufactured products achieve a truly com-
petitive stature, they have unimpeded access to the international
marketplace. The onus is on the developed nations of the world to
accept these products willingly, and to be prepared to shift their
own production facilities, if necessary, into the manufacture of
39
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182 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1068
higher quality products, rather than endeavor to erect trade bar-
riers, designed solely to discourage any new competition.
Industrialization, therefore, depends upon two factors: at the
outset, the developing country must exercise care to develop its
industry, not at the expense of, but closely in conjunction with its
agriculture. Secondly, the developed countries must exhibit a
broad-minded "laissez-faire" posture in their acceptance of the
developing nation's products, even though they may present a
challenge to that country's own export commodities. Moreover,
the developed nations may find that, although a specific product
might be forced off the market by the competition from develop..
ing countries, its overall national income may be increased by the
resulting market to supply the means of production to the devel-
oping country.
Industrialization, on this basis, has already demonstrated its
feasibility and merit in some countries in this region. I am anxious
to lend the full support of the ADB to the furtherance of this
type of integrated development.
One practicable application of the Bank's conventional re-
sources, which emphasizes the close connection between the two
sectors, is the development of the agricultural output-processing
industry. An already-tested and successful example of this phase
of industrial development is the canning industry, and there are
certainly innumerable others.
I have dwealt, thus far, on what I believe is a logical and realis-
tic approach to the economic development of this region, and have
tried to outline the specific areas on which the ADB is not only
well-advised, but disposed to concentrate, especially during its for~
mative years. I would like to occupy the time remaining in discuss-
ing another activity which we are rapidly equipping ourselves to
undertake; namely, technical assistance.
During the course of my regional visits, I was made aware
of the fact that wisdom is sometimes worth more than money to a
developing country. If nations of this region are ever to achieve
a fully integrated economy, it is essential that sufficient emphasis
be placed on the so-called strategy of economic development. This
strategy includes an accurate appraisal of the country's present
stage of development, to determine the degree of existing infra-
structural groundwork, from which agricultural and industrial
projects can be conceived.
Having arrived at an overall plan, based upon a realistic
evaluation of the needs, it then befalls the developing country to
identify specific projects, which can qualify for development finan-
40
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ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 183
cing. This demands a systematic analysis of a myriad complex
factors, including each project's probable immediate contribution
to national income, its ability to generate funds to service the loan,
and its relevance to the total concept of economic development.
Finally, having completed the two phases outlined above, and
having categorized the resulting projects on the basis of relative
priority, it is imperative to provide for the efficient implementa-
tion of the funds. Supervision and implementation, though the
last phase, is by no means the least significant. For example, with
regard to the servicing of the debt generated by the project, it is
vital that pre-arranged timetables be adhered to, lest the scheme's
earning power fall behind the repayment schedule. I would ven-
ture to say that improper implementation has, in many cases,
contributed considerably to a condition existing today in many
developing countries, whereby a major portion of all new develop-
ment loans is conimitted to the servicing of existing debt. This
condition has reached alarming proportions in some nations al-
ready, and threatens to stifle the progress of economic growth
altogether in the near future.
The inadequate depth of human resources in developing coun-
tries, and the corresponding need to mobilize additional manpower
for development, is not unrecognized by the countries of this re-
gion. I discovered on my trips that, in some cases, a country may
be capable of securing financing readily enough through its own
channels, but is unable to identify appropriate projects or to pre-
sent them in a form acceptable to international financial insti-
tutions.
* Another obstacle often encountered by developing countries
is a reluctance to solicit technical assistance on a bi-lateral basis.
There is, I believe, a tendency to suspect that any request for
assistance is apt to imply a commitment of some sort to the devel-
oped country. While this need not necessarily entail a disadvan-
tageous posture, the fear of it is often enough to inhibit the
developing country.
We would hope that, through the ADB's multi-lateral char-
acter, we could eliminate that reluctance. And, in fact, we do not
intend to take a passive stance, simply awaiting requests for tech-
nical assistance.
Within the next few months, we expect to have completed the
initial staffing of the Operations Department and the Economic
and Technical Assistance Department. We have, as well, already
begun to approach a number of outside sources of technical assist-
ance, with whom we could work jointly, in performing feasibility
41
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184 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
studies or pre-investment analyses. In addition, a number of in-
ternational agencies and eminent experts from member countries
have indicated their availability for such studies.
Equipped with such a wealth of talent, I feel it would be a
mistake for the Bank to merely make itself available to receive
applications for technical assistance. Admitting the widespread
desire for economic advice, we will attempt to take the initiative
in determining the specific areas where the Bank can lend its
technical resources most effectively. In fact, in the not too dis-
tant future, we hope to commence dispatching technical missions
to the developing members, to identify suitable candidates for
ADB loans.
However, the Bank is somewhat restricted in providing this
service. Our Charter limits the funds available for technical as~
sistance of a "non-reimbursable nature" to two per cent of the
Bank's paid-in capital. Nonetheless, this is a base from which to
start, and supplemented with the proceeds of prospective special
funds, designed for such studies, we should be able to respond to
the already urgent pleas of the developing member countries.
Yet, regardless of the impact engendered by developed coun-
tries or by the ADB, the real impetus for economic development
must spring from the soil of the developing countries themselves.
They must inspire the domestic initiative, and be prepared to sup-
ply the manpower resources and endure the sacrifices that are the
dictates of progress. This demands the cultivation of a genera-
tion of home-grown experts; economists, engineers, agronomists,
statisticians, and, perhaps most critical of all, competent and
conscientious managers.
(Sto~tement a~t the meeting of the Manila Junior Chamber of
Commerce, in Manila, May 2, 1967)
42
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ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 185
A
PLAN
OF
ACTION
Today's opening session of the Consultative Committee signals
the first operational step of the ADB in pursuit of its stated goal-
"to promote economic growth in the region of Asia and the Far
East." It is fitting that the first step should be directed toward
the most crucial sector of economic development today, namely
agriculture. It is also appropriate that the first operational step
should be the natural one of asking specialists and experts for their
advice and counsel, particularly as it pertains to possible areas of
ADB activity.
As you are aware, the founders of this Bank endowed it with
a capitalization of $1.1 billion: to this, the original thirty-one
members countries subscribed $965 million. Half of this amount
is to be paid-in in five equal annual installments, 50 per cent in lo-
cal currency and 50 per cent in convertible currency. In accordance
with these remittance provisions, as specified in the Charter, the
Bank, by the time this S~irvey is concluded, will have had two in-
stallments of its capital subscription paid in amounting to about
$200 million of Ordinary Capital Resources, with which to conduct
its ordinary operations. Somewhat more than half of this amount
will consist of convertible currencies.
The first task of the ADB was to translate the concept of a
regional development institution, as embodied in the Agreement
Establishing the Bank, into a functioning reality. In the six months
that have elapsed since our formal opening in Manila, at which
time the Bank had a skeleton staff of less than ten, we have en-
gaged a personnel force of more than one hundred and fifty, of
43
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186' ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
whom fifty are professional staff, recruited from over fifteen coun-
tries. As well, the Bank has made progress in establishing a com-
prehensive administrative framework with which to expedite its
internal operations.
Apart from this, one of my first endeavors, upon assuming
the Presidency of the ADB, was to visit each of the regional mem-
ber countries, to acquire a better understanding of the general
economic climate in the region, and to elicit the views of leaders
of government and the private sector on the Bank's role as they
saw it.
This series of visits, which was concluded in April, strongly
supported the statements of the majority of the Bank's Governors
delivered at the Inaugural Meeting. They placed primary emphasis
on the critical need to stimulate the development of agriculture
in this region, particularly the immediate imperative of increasing
food production in the face of mushrooming population growth.
For the longer run, the development of agriculture can be
seen as the first phase in a well-ordered program of diversified
economic development; a program designed to effect the transition
from Asia's traditionally agro-based economies to ones which are
truly well-balanced, including a healthy industrial sector. More-
over, a prosperous agricultural community, with sufficient pur-
chasing power, will constitute the basis for the domestic market
upon which industries in this region, particularly during the forma-
tive stages, must rely as an outlet for their manufactured products.
It also will form a major source of internal capital for further
development.
Both the urgency, and the companion challenge, of transform-
ing traditional peasant agriculture into modern, commercial agri-
culture are, I am certain, fully recognized by this well-informed
gathering.
We are all aware of the many complications that attend any
attempt to transform traditional agriculture. It is my expectation
that in the course of this Survey you will direct attention to the
major and typical problems that Asian agriculture faces, as well
as the corresponding activities that you would recommend for this
Bank. So far as development financing for agriculture is concerned
we can see certain limitations that are faced by potential borrow-
ers. There is not always adequate capability to optimally deter-
mine the allocation of national resources to agriculture, to which
outside assistance can only be a supplement. Further, there are
difficulties in matching project identification with the determina-
tion and implementation of policies and institutional changes ne-
44
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ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 187
I
45
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188 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
cessary for the success of either the particular project or of the
agricultural sector as a whole. Developing countries are also often
additionally handicapped in the articulation of projects to meet the
requirements of lending agencies.
These difficulties can be surmounted by a sufficiently dynamic
program of technical assistance. However, in making a useful
contribution to the resolution of these and comparable difficulties,
the ADB, at this early stage of development, itself needs technical
assistance in evolving its perspective on the criteria of agricultural
lending, the channels and forms of lending, the conditions of lend-
ing, etc. It is to you and to the Survey Team, under your guidance,
that I look for suggestions.
I have already reviewed with you the capital resources of the
Bank. With these resources, with such additional capital as we
may be able in due course to borrow in capital markets of the
world, and with such other development funds as we may be able
to mobilize in our role as a catalyst, we envision a wide range of
activities. It is natural to assume that agricultural development
will warrant a sizeable share of these resources. Yet there is still
another problem.
At the very core of the issue of agricultural development is
the need of many of the developing nations in this region for "soft
loan" funds, with extended maturities and reduced interest rates.
In the first place, some types of agricultural projects have long
gestation periods and, despite their importance may improve the
foreign exchange position of the borrower only indirectly. Second-
ly, in quite a few borrowing countries, loans of the conventional
type would cast a debt burden beyond their current servicing capa-
city. There have been indications that capital for this sort of
concessional financing will be forthcoming, in the form of Specia1~
Funds contributions, to supplement the Bank's Ordinary Capital
Resources.
In the Joint Communiqué of the Conference on Agricultural
Development in Southeast Asia, which convened in Tokyo, in Dec-
ember 1966, the nine participating nations formally underlined the
significant role that agriculture must play in the development of
this region. It further agreed to call upon developed countries and
the Asian Development Bank to cooperate in setting up a special
agricultural fund, and requested the "Asian Development Bank to
start immediately deliberation on various problems concerning the
establishment of the fund."
At the subsequent Second Ministerial Conference for Economic
Development of Southeast Asia, which met in Manila this past
46
PAGENO="0193"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 189
April, I was pleased to report that our Board of Directors "accepted
in principle the idea of special agricultural funds to be adminis-
tered by the ADB." At that same conference, I reiterated the
feeling of the Board when I stated, "our own staff has been kept
deliberately small" hence, "we will need to make use of experts
in completing the studies required before disbursing these funds."
And further, "we must base our appeals to donors and our future
decisions on a clear, coherent and well documented program of
action."
The management and the Board are cognizant of the limita-
tions that both the Bank's requirements and time impose on this
Survey. We are not seeking yet another addition to the sizable
output of studies, reference works, and documentation that already
exist or are currently in the course of preparation on the subject
of agricultural development in general or with specific reference
to Asia. Neither do we expect that you will have the time to do
an in-depth analysis of each country's individual economic and
agricultural characteristics with a view to evolve comprehensive
recommendations on the policies, procedures and programs appro-
priate for each country's agricultural growth.
Instead, the objective of the ADB in commissioning this Sur-
vey is primarily to solicit your advice on those specific operating
areas in the field of agricultural development to which the Bank
can lend its resources, be they technical or financial, hard loans
or soft, and your suggestions regarding general policy guidelines
which would make the Bank's participation useful to the developing
member countries and worthwhile to the Bank.
This Survey is, therefore, designed to be "action-oriented,"
to assist the ADB in evolving a valid and up-to-date framework
within which (by promoting agriculture) it can rake tangible
contributions to the economic advancement of the developing mem-
ber countries. In this regard, the views that would emerge from
the work done under your guidance would command the most care-
ful consideration of the Management and the Board of this Bank
in the formulation of policies.
The purpose of this initial meeting of the Consultative Com-
mittee is to enable you to consider the appropriate procedures and
methods necessary to ensure the smooth and efficient operation
of the Survey and, through discussion and refinement of the terms
of reference, to pave the way for the work of the TechnIcal and
Economic Survey Team, some of whom are in attendance at this
session. This Team, whose leader is Dr. Cluing, is corn.~posed of
specialists in the field of agricultural development, and will con~
47
90-014 0-68-13
PAGENO="0194"
190 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
cern itself, through visits and consultations, with investigations of
the typical problem8 of agriculture in the region and of the ways
by which this Bank can help in promoting agricultural growth.
The members of the Team will return to the Bank at periodic in-
tervals to coordinate their findings with the existing data on the
subject, which have been catalogued by the Technical Secretariat,
and to formalize their observations into reports.
It will be the role of the Consultative Committee to evaluate
the work of the Survey Team. Based upon the reports submitted
by the Team members, it will be your responsibility to consider
their conclusions in the light of your own experience to determine
to what extent they satisfy the objectives which I have outlined. -
In this fashion, we hope you will produce reports containing not
only an indication and an appraisal of the specific problems in the
region, but, also an integrated body of expert views taking into
account the various observations. It is these reports, which will
serve as the $urvey's definitive documents, that will be forwarded
to the Nanagement and the Board of Directors of the Bank; re-
ports which we hope will provide us with a well-spring of insight
of value to the formulation of the Bank's future operating policy
in agriculture.
I am heartened by the talents assembled here. Speaking for
the entire Asian Development Bank, I am confident that this Sur-
vey will be the forerunner of a continuous stream of meaningful
cooj~erative efforts between the ADB and international experts and
institutions, aimed at raising the standard of living of the develop-
ing nations in this region.
(Address to the Considta~tive Committee on The Asian Agri-
cultural Survey at the Bank's Headquarters in Greater Manila,
July 11, 1967.)
48
PAGENO="0195"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 191
PREREQUISITE
FOR
PROGRESS
The Asian Development Bank initiated its operational activi-
ties this past week, with the launching of an Asian Agricultural
Survey. One of the key stimuli for this Survey was my recently
concluded series of visits to the Bank's regional member coun-
tries. It is all well and good to peruse statistics, like those which
record the past year's shortfalls in food production, to a level below
pre-war output, and, more generally, the decline in overall agricul-
tural production of similar magnitude. However, it was only
through personal contact with leaders of government and the pri-
vate sector in the developing nations of this region, that I was
brought face to face with the very real consequences of these short-
falls, and the resultant imperative of reversing this downward
trend.
The figures tell us that the developing countries must sustain
an annual growth rate of at least five per cent in agricultural pro-
duction, merely to regain pre-war levels, However, the figures don't
spell out the difficulties impeding such a goal. It is only when you
speak with economic planners and policy makers that you are made
fully aware of the obstacles imposed by a host of deficiencies in
the existing developmental framework, including a lack of elemen-
tary infrastructure, inadequate capital formation, and immobile or
unskilled labor resources.
These and similar problems have not only proved serious de.
terrents to the effective stimulation of regional agricultural pro-
duction, but, they have also had repercussions on industrial growth
49
PAGENO="0196"
192 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
in several ways. In the first place, shortfalls in food production,
of which the decrease in rice yield of one million tons for 1966-67
over the previous year is an example, must be offset by imports.
These imports have the direct effect of reducing already-scarce
regional foreign exchange reserves; reserves which, could otherwise
have been employed for the importation of necessary raw mate-
rials, capital goods and spare parts for industry.
Secondly, shortfalls in the agricultural sector are frequently
accompanied by rising prices, which affect industry both directly
and indirectly. Directly, increased input costs to established agri-
cultural output-processing industries are incurred. And, indirectly,
as the purchasing power of the agricultural community declines,
the domestic market, upon which infant industries must rely as
an outlet for their manufactured goods, particularly those intended
to serve as import substitutes, disappears as well. In the absence
of a domestic market, industries in developing countries are un-
able to accumulate the revenues required to finance the costly, but
vital, refinements in their methods of production and cannot hope
to realize economies of scale, without which it will not be feasible
to embark upon the course of international competition.
It is the expressed desire of all those concerned with the
development of this region, the founders of the ADB included, to
initiate the diversification of developing economies as rapidly as is
practicable. The wisdom of this aim is amply borne out by the
records of economies like those of Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, and
that of your own country. Those four cases have demonstrated
that, the higher the percentage of manufacturing in the total GNP,
the higher overall economic growth tends to be. This correlation
is no statistical accident; rather, it bears out the complementary
nature of agriculture and industry. However, based upon the fore-
going line of thinking, at least as I have endeavored to present it,
the increase of agricultural production poses the critical first phase
in any well-ordered program of economic development whose ulti-
mate objective is the achievement of truly well-balanced economies.
I do not mean to imply, however, that the Asian Development
Bank is now, or ever will be, `a panacea for the economic ills of the
region. Its institutional' existence encompasses barely six months,
and even in another month, when the second installment `of its
paid-in capital falls due, the Bank will have less than $200 `million
of ordinary capital resources at its disposal, of which only a little
over $100 million will be freely convertible. Moreover, no single
institution can be expected to shoulder the responsibility for the
economic advancement of nearly one billion people.
50
PAGENO="0197"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 193
Nonetheless, an organization like the ADB forms an important
multilateral link, connecting developed and developing countries.
Therefore, it has the added effect of a catalyst, inducing a stream
of technical and capital resources considerably greater than its own
to flow into this region. I am confident that the financial resources
will be forthcoming, evidenced by the response of the developed
countries to the suggestion of last December's Conference on
Agricultural Development in Southeast Asia for the creation of an
agricultural special fund, to be administered by the Asian Develop-
ment Bank. Looking a bit further down the road, the ADB will
endeavor to raise investment funds for this region through the sale
of its bonds in the international capital markets.
In the interim, the Asian Agricultural Survey represents the
Bank's initial attempt to mobilize outside technical resources for
the tangible benefit of the region. The success of this maiden
effort, in terms of the expertise represented on the Survey's Con-
sultative Committee and its Technical and Economic Survey Team,
should be a source of considerable encouragement to the developing
member countries.
The Consultative Committee held its first session last week,
purporting to "consider the appropriate procedures and methods
necessary to ensure the smooth and efficient operation of the Sur-
vey and, through discussion and refinement of the terms of refer-
ence, to pave the way for the work of the Technical and Economic
Survey Team..." I was greatly impressed with the Committee's
grasp of the problems inherent in such a Survey, namely the limit-
ations imposed by the Bank's specific requirements and time, as
well as their desire to circumscribe the objectives of the Survey to
focus primarily on a program of action for the ADB. In other
words, the Survey will not endeavor to produce another in the
stream of general reference works on the subject of agricultural
development. Neither will it presume to conduct an in-depth in-
vestigation of each developing nation's particular economic prob-
lems in the relatively brief span of six months.
The Survey is, instead, designed to serve as a framework for
the future operations of the Bank as they relate to the field of
agricultural development.. It will attempt to pinpoint the needs of
the region, the problems which have traditionally created or per-
petuated those needs, and, finally, general investment opportunities
which the Bank could promote to satisfy those needs. The optimun~
opportunities would be those which increase productive capacity,
especially those which introduce technological advances.
A process of selection and limitation in the conduct of the Sur-
51
PAGENO="0198"
194 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
vey is, of course, inescapable. However, within those confines, I
am confident the Bank can reasonably expect to acquire an ap-
praisal of the climate for investment in the region which, while
it may be restricted to. a few sample situations, will, nohetheless,
be indicative of the whole picture. This appraisal must evaluate
such factors as the sophistication of national economic planning
and administration, disposition of land, ability to adopt technologic-
al innovation, distribution and marketing facilities, and the nature
of capital and credit structures. Even more critical perhaps, is the
identification of existing policy constraints which may be inhibiting
economic growth. Special emphasis will be devoted to each coun-
try's current stage and pace of development, and the scope and re-
quirements for further gains, aimed at reaching that point where
economies can be recognized as "taking off."
At the conclusion of the Asian Agricultural Survey, scheduled
for early 1968, the ADB will inherit a body of information and
recommendations, formalized into reports, which will directly in-
fluence the course of the Bank's lending policy as it pertains to
agriculture. However, the legacy of the Survey will indirectly have
far broader implications for the entire region, because a prosperous
agricultural community is a certain prerequisite for the advent of
industrialization.
(Address to the Ma~ndo2uyong Cha~mber of Commerce, Jt4y
iei, 1967)
52
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ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 195
DIPLOMACY:
A NEW DIMENSION
Prior to World War II, many of the countries of this region
were merely fragments of vast and impersonal colonial spheres of
influence, with little more than a secondary hand in charting their
own course. The Asian diplomat, is, today, the emissary of his
own independent nation, striving to establish its own national iden-
tity, endeavoring to satisfy its own needs and ambitions, and beset
by its own indigenous set of problems.
During the pre~war era, there were clear lines of de-
marcation between the "haves" and the "have nots", the rich
and the poor, the powerful and the weak. Diplomacy then consisted
of the countries in the former group vying for the control of those
in the latter, in the interminable struggle for the balance of power.
It is disconcerting to note that the configuration of "haves" and
"have note" has altered only slightly. And, I must admit, that it
is sometimes difficult for developing nations, even in the modern
world, to envision a much more meaningful role for themselves, as
long as this struggle persists.
However, there is a significant new dimension to diplomacy
today the dimension which Mr. Eugene Black so aptly named
"the diplomacy of economic development". This dimension is pre~.
dicated upon what the former World Bank President terms the
"balance of hope" for the developing countries. If my understand-
ing of this thesis is correct, it implies that the successful economic
53
PAGENO="0200"
196 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968
development of Asia is contingent upon the wholehearted accep-
ance - in fact, the stimulation and encouragement - of change;
the evolution of thinking to include the introduction of new tech-
nologies into traditional societies; the transformation of methods
of production from what might be termed "prayer-inspired" pro-
duction to scientifically-induced production.
The willingness of the more fortunate to share their wealth
with the less fortunate has historically been, at best, an occasion-
al quality. This applies not only to the reluctance of developed na-
tions to open their doors to the competitive products of their de-
veloping neighbors, or to make their economic surpluses readily
available to countries in the throes of economic crisis. It also re..
lates to the lamentable attitude of some minority interest groups
within the developing nations, who are inclined to oppose essen-
tial land reforms, or who engage in conspicuous consumption,
while viable development projects must be shelved due to insuf-
ficient capital.
To carve out a meaningful position for your countries in the
international community of nations - one of which they can be
justifiably proud is the immediate challenge to diplomacy to-
day, and I am heartened to observe it as one of the primary subjects
of study by this Course. To impart to the minds o~ your people the
thirst for technological innovation, and to their hands, the skills
to effectively implement the fruits of modern science, is the first
dictate of "development diplomacy". The second, and equally ur-
gent, is to arouse and enlighten the developed community to your
needs, and to the logic of their contributing an ever-increasing
amount of their technical and capital resources to the construc-
tion of a prosperous Asia. I have no. doubt that an economically
independent and prosperous Asia will contribute considerably
more to the affluence of the developed countries, than it ever did
as a region of economie satellites. It now befalls men like your-
selves to disseminate this rationale in a convincing and rapid man-j
ner.
Your assignment is made exceedingly difficult by the current
statistical ill-wind, which threatens to extinguish the already-faint
glimmer of hope for this region. It is no easy task to sow the seeds
of hope in the minds of the people, when Asian agricultural pro-
duction declines to 5.5 per cent below pre-war levels, as it did this
past year, or when regional rice output is one million tons less than
the previous year, which itself was considerably lower than 1964's
record yield. The horizon appears even dimmer when viewed
through the eyes of a population which is increasing at the rate
54
PAGENO="0201"
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1968 197
of two per cent per year, and whose food supply must be supple-
mented through the expenditure of dangerously-depleted regional
foreign exchange reserves - reserves urgently needed for the im-
portation of manufactured consumer goods, as well as raw mate-
rials, capital goods, and spare parts for industry.
Neither is the picture brightezied by the existing flow of fo-
reign capital to Asia. While the combined GNP of the developed
nations is increasing, the proportion of their prosperity which is
channelled into the development efforts of this region is actually
diminishing on a percentage basis. Not only has the total of gross
foreign aid disbursements from the DAC countries remained sta-
tic, but the burden of debt servicing has continued to increase,
seriously reducing the net flow of funds, while the number of out-
right grants and of loans repayable in local currency has
been declining.
I have highlighted the foregoing figures not because I would
have you capitulate to the seemingly insurmountable obstacles
which lay in the path of economic development. Rather, I have
mentioned them to underline the imperative of devoting the sum
total of your energy and wisdom to the responsibility which has
been placed upon your relatively young shoulders.
As a matter of fact, the "balance of hope" is considerably
less tenuous than I have suggested above. "Development diplo-
macy" has already made measurable strides toward its goal of
achieving a higher standard of living for this region. If you will
permit me a bit of prejudice, I would venture to say that one
of the most notable accomplishments of "development diplomacy"
has been the establishment of the Asian Development Bank, not
only from the viewpoint of what it can itself hope to contribute,
but also the spirit in which it was founded, and its implications
for the future of Asia's economic advancement.
The ADB is Asia's own institution, an institution devoted
solely to the development of this region and, yet, bringing the
technical and financial resources of no less than twelve non-re-
gional, developed nations to bear on its problems. It is a signifi-
cant departure from traditional Western diplomacy that these
twelve countries were willing to subordinate their own voices to
those of their nineteen Asian partners attested to by the fact
that at least 60 per cent of the Bank's capital must be contributed
by the Asian members, seven of its ten Directors are from within
the region, and the President must be an. Asian.
A major hindrance to effective development efforts in the past
has been the debtor-creditor stigma often accompanying the
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"classic" bi-lateral relationship. While the bulk of foreign aid con-
tinues to be disbursed en .a bi-lateral basis, the ADB, as a multi-
lateral vehicle, through which funds are channelled in an anony-
mous fashion, represents a heartening breakthrough in this pat-
tern of assistance. Although the Bank does not herald the obso-
lescence or the disappearance of bi-lateral aid, it does serve as a
bellwether of an increasingly enlightened attitude on the part of
the developed nations one which facilitates the subordination of
national self-interest to the pursuit of regional objectives. As
well, it has proven an attractive vehicle for the smaller developed
countries, whose resources, by themselves, would have made rela-
tively little impact., but within the framework of a pool of re-
sources, constitute a noteworthy contribution.
We can observe from the foregoing that "development diplo-
macy" has already made progress in promoting the endorsement
of the multi-lateral method of assistance to developing countries.
Its greatest challenge, however, lies in determining the appropriate
areas for development emphasis, and in implementing the re-
sources at its disposal in the most expeditious manner, consistent
with the national objectives of the recipient.
It would, of course, be possible to inject doses of capital and
technical assistance into th4 economic bloodstream of the develop-
ing nations at almost any point and witness some degree of suc-
cess - and, I might add, this type of random resource allocation
would present less problems from a diplomatic standpoint.
However, the achievement of fully-diversified and prosperous eco-
nomic structures demands the espousal of a well-ordered program
of development, taking into account each country's current stage
of development. One of the primary functions of an international
institution such as the ADB is to make itself available to assist its
member nations in pinpointing the proper, areas for resource in-
puts. These areas can encompass a wide scope, ranging from fer-
tilizer plants or industrial complexes, in the more sophisticated
economies, to power generators, feeder roads, irrigation systems
and other elementary infrastructures, in the less mature econo-
mies. Regardless of where emphasis is placed, it must adhere to
a logical sequence, because to omit a preliminary phase may spell
the defeat of subsequent phases.
The current state of the Asian agricultural sector presents
an appropriate example of this thesis. I have already cited some
of the damaging consequences of continued production shortfalls.
To elaborate further, these shortfalls sap the purchasing power
of the farming community, which comprises the major segment of
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the domestic consumer market. In the absence of a prosperous do-
mestic market, infant industries are hampered by the lack of re-
venues needed for refinement of their methods of production, and
cannot hope to achieve the economies of scale to enable them to
compete internationally. As well, insufficient agricultural produc-
tion interrupts the flow of raw materials to established agricul-
tural output-processing industries. In the light of these facts, it
becomes more readily apparent that, not only regional food re-
quirements, but the ultimate aim of diversifying Asia's economies,
presupposes the immediate increase of agricultural production.
The Asian Development Bank, has, therefore, determined that
its initial contribution to the region should be in the area of agri~
cultural development. Toward this end, the Bank, in July, com-
missioned the Asian Agricultural Survey, combining the agricul-
tural specialists on its own staff with a team of international ex-
perts. This Survey is designed to be "action-oriented", endowing
the Bank with an accurate and up-to-date body of information,
designed to function as a frame of reference for the Bank's fu-
ture activities in the field of agricultural development. The find-
ings and conclusions of the Survey are expected to assist the Bank
in disbursing its existing "ordinary capital resources", which, this
month, will be increased to nearly $200 million, and also to pave
the way for the effective utilization of special funds which will be
forthcoming in the future.
I have mentioned the Asian Agricultural Survey at this time,
partly because it marks the first concrete step taken by the ADB.
But more importantly, because it represents a tangible outgrowth
of what I have so frequently referred to this afternoon as "devel-
opment diplomacy". The question before us is not from which
sector the stimulus for development should spring, whether it
should be foreign or domestic, government or private; neither is
it a matter of choosing between agricultural and industrial devel-
opment. There is no single area of emphasis, no one alternative,
which can resolve all the problems. The vast magnitude of the
task necessitates a consolidated effort from all quarters, and de-
mands that no potential source of assistance be left untapped. In
addition, successful economic development requires the simulta-
neous attention, to whatever extent practicable, to all phases of
development.
I have no doubt that the international institution is destined
to play an increasingly vital role in the economic development
of this region. Yet, the contribution of the Asian Development
Bank, or of any other international institution, will amount to no
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more than an island of affluence in a sea of poverty, unless it is
accompanied by the kind of consolidated effort to which I alluded
earlier. The benefits to be derived from the success of any single
project can be quickly swamped by the tide of neglect. It is essen-
tial that the recipient country not only follows up the impJemen~
tation of the project, but also that it encourages the initiation of
complementary projects.
The primary mission of diplomacy today is to assume the lead
in harnessing the diffuse energy of developers, and in merging the
disparate streams~ of technical and financial resources, both ex-
ternal and internal. Only in this way can the critical element of
continuity be introduced into the economic development of Asia.
In my opinion, the absence of this ingredient precludes the
achievement of lasting prosperity, and it is in this belief that I
urge your unstinting support.
(Address to the First Asian Foreign Service Course in Manila,
August 9, 1967.)
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