ADB meets on RI debt

ADB meets on RI debt

MANILA (Dow Jones): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said its board is scheduled to meet today to approve a US$1.5 billion program loan to strengthen and reform Indonesia's financial sector.

The political turmoil in Indonesia caused the loan to be delayed over the past month, but the International Monetary Fund's agreement this week to release the next tranche of its rescue package for Indonesia in early July has put the ADB loan back on track.

An ADB spokesman told Dow Jones Tuesday that the board is expected to approve the loan, which will be dispersed in three tranches.

"We're not anticipating any problems," the spokesman said.

Under the disbursement schedule, the ADB expects to pay $550 million shortly after the loan is approved, followed by another tranche of $500 million at the end of the year. The balance will be dispersed in 1999.