AIIB agrees $500m loans to Turkish banks to help ease COVID-19 strain
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved loans totaling $500 million to two development banks in Turkey, backed by a government guarantee. The financing will alleviate liquidity constraints faced by Turkish companies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Turkey COVID-19 Credit Line Project, funded by AIIB’s COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility, provides sovereign-backed short-term credit lines to Turkiye Kalkınma ve Yatırım Bankası ($300 million) and Turkiye Sınai Kalkınma Bankası ($200 million).
The two borrowers will on-lend the loans to corporates and SMEs in infrastructure sectors, including transport, energy, water, sustainable cities, healthcare, information and communications technologies and other eligible productive sectors.
The credit lines will provide liquidity for payment of operating expenses, short-term assets - such as inventories, trade receivables - and liabilities.
