PHNOM PENH: At least 390,000 jobs will be lost in Cambodia this year following the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to reports in the Khmer Times, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had approved a US$250 million loan to help the government cope with the pandemic.
Sunniya Durrani-Jamal, who is the ADB country director in Cambodia, said the loan would be a 24-year concession, including an eight-year grace period.
"During the grace period, the loan will have an interest rate of one per cent per annum followed by 1.5 per cent thereafter."
ADB will also provide grants to Cambodia as well as technical assistance for its cash transfer programme. The financial support will be targeted at businesses, households and individuals who were adversely affected by the pandemic, with emphasis on the poor and vulnerable groups.
Details of the loan, according to the Economy and Finance Ministry spokesman, Meas Sok Sensan, will be released during the signing of the contract soon.
People's Centre for Development and Peace President Yong Kim Eng said the loan would help Cambodia's economic recovery and take poor families out of poverty if spent wisely.
The loan must be spent transparently and effectively. It must be clearly audited by other agencies or by all relevant stakeholders, he said.