ADB delays RI meeting

ADB delays RI meeting

MANILA (Reuters): A planned Asian Development Bank (ADB) board meeting set for yesterday to discuss a US$1.5 billion loan to Indonesia has been postponed again, a Bank spokesman said.

"It is being rescheduled," he said without giving further details.

The meeting had originally been set for May 14 but was delayed by one board governor for "procedural reasons."

The ADB loan is part of a bail-out package for the crisis-hit country being led by the International Monetary Fund.

Officials said last week the loan was crucial to breathe life into Indonesia's flagging banking system and expressed concern that politics was playing a role in the delay in approving the loan.

There were no immediate details on why the meeting had been postponed nor when the board was now due to meet.

The ADB portion of the program, which is strongly backed within the Bank itself, was dependent on an IMF agreement which was reached earlier this month.

The delay comes after days of rioting last week in Indonesia, in which at least 500 people have died.