Asian Development Bank (ADB)

1.1 What is the Asian Development Bank?

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank. It lends to and works with countries in Asia and the Pacific.

In 1999 ADB made poverty reduction its main goal. It also works to build quality infrastructure and safeguard the planet.

1.2 When and where did it start?

ADB opened on 19 December 1966 with 31 members. The Philippine capital, Manila, was chosen to host it.

Takeshi Watanabe was ADB’s first President. The region was mostly agricultural, so in the 1960s ADB focused on food production and rural development.

The first Annual Meeting of the Governors was held in Tokyo on 24 to 26 November 1966.

Its headquarters is at 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila.

1.3 How many members does it have?

ADB has 69 shareholding members. Of these, 50 are from Asia and the Pacific and 19 are from outside the region.

It grew from 31 members at its founding in 1966. Some members joined later, as the table shows.

2.1 Who sets the policy?

The Board of Governors is ADB’s highest policy-making body. It has one representative from each member nation.

That means 69 Governors, 50 from the region and 19 from outside it.

2.2 Who supervises the work?

The Governors elect 12 members to form the Board of Directors. The Directors work full time at the ADB headquarters.

They supervise ADB’s financial statements and approve its administrative budget.

2.3 Who leads the Bank?

Masato Kanda is the President of ADB. He is also the Chairperson of the Board of Directors.

The Board of Governors elected him, and he assumed office on 24 February 2025. His predecessor, Masatsugu Asakawa, served from 17 January 2020 to 23 February 2025.

3.1 How big is India’s stake?

India is a founding member of ADB and its fourth-largest shareholder. It is also one of the largest recipients of ADB public sector support.

Japan and the United States hold 15.571 percent of the shares each. India holds 672,030 shares, which is 6.317 percent of the total shares. Its 710,577 votes are 5.343 percent of the total membership votes.

3.2 How much has India put in?

India’s overall capital subscription is $9.21 billion. Its paid-in capital subscription is $460.67 million.

The figures are valued at the rate on 31 December 2025.

3.3 How much does ADB lend to India?

By 31 December 2025, ADB had committed 683 public sector loans, grants and technical assistance worth $63.8 billion to India.

In 2025 it committed $4.238 billion for 16 public sector projects. These cover skills, renewable energy and urban infrastructure.

ADB says it supports India’s Viksit Bharat vision. That is the goal of becoming a developed country by 2047.

4.1 How much did ADB commit in 2025?

In 2025 ADB committed $29.3 billion from its own resources. The total covers loans, grants, equity, guarantees, private sector programs and technical help.

It made these commitments to its borrowing members.

4.2 What changed in the ADB Charter?

ADB’s governors agreed to amend the Charter to remove a lending limitation. The change enables a 50 percent increase in financing capacity.

It does not need a general capital increase from shareholders. The Charter can be amended only by a two-thirds vote of the Governors, representing at least three-fourths of the voting power.

The voting threshold was reached on 14 November with support from 61 members.

4.3 Is a Charter amendment the same as a capital increase?

No. The 2025 change lifts ADB’s lending capacity without asking shareholders for fresh money.

A general capital increase is different. In 2009 the Governors agreed to triple ADB’s capital base from $55 billion to $165 billion. That decision gave ADB more resources to respond to the global economic crisis.

4.4 What is the Nature Solutions Finance Hub?

ADB launched the Nature Solutions Finance Hub (NSFH) at COP28 in December 2023. It is a platform for climate and nature investments with partners.

The Hub aims to raise at least $5 billion in private and public finance for nature-based solutions. These support biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.

Founding partners include the OPEC Fund, the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility and the Saudi Fund for Development.

ADB says nature loss threatens two-thirds of GDP in Asia and the Pacific. The Hub was also the subject of a COP29 side event in Baku on 16 November 2024.

5.1 How does ADB differ from the World Bank?

The World Bank is a cooperative of 189 member countries. It grew out of the Bretton Woods conference of July 1944, where delegates from 44 countries met.

ADB is regional. It works only in Asia and the Pacific, and it opened 22 years later.

5.2 How do ADB, NDB and AIIB differ?

ADB opened in 1966 and is based in Manila. The New Development Bank moved to its permanent headquarters in Shanghai in 2021.

The AIIB began operations in Beijing in 2016. The AIIB has grown to 111 approved members worldwide.

Do not mix these three. Only ADB launched the Nature Solutions Finance Hub.

5.3 Where did the 2026 Annual Meeting take place?

ADB’s 59th Annual Meeting was set for 3 to 6 May 2026 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. It is the second time Uzbekistan hosts the ADB Annual Meeting.

So the Samarkand meeting was not the first in Central Asia.

The answer is (a). ADB launched the Hub for Asia and the Pacific.

The other options are traps. AIIB, NDB and the World Bank’s IBRD did not launch this Hub.