Japan to pledge $190m aid

Japan to pledge $190m aid

TOKYO (AFP): Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi will pledge 20 billion yen (US$190 million) in aid for the poor in Asia when he attends a major Southeast Asian conference this month, a press report said Saturday.

The promise will be made at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their key neighbors in Manila on November 28,Jiji Press said.

The government will extend 10 billion yen each through the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to back up official and non-government activities supporting impoverished, undereducated people in Asia, the news agency said.

Obuchi will also announce plans to set up a $100 million fund in Thailand early next year to invest in small-sized and venture businesses in the region by buying their shares, the Jiji report said.

The Asian Development Bank and Japan's Bank for International Cooperation are expected to provide $25 million each to the fund, the report added.