Singapore joins the Asian Development Bank

Singapore was one of the original 31 members to join the Asian Development Bank (ADB) when it was founded on 22 August 1966.^[1] The ADB was set up for the purpose of providing loans and technical assistance to developing countries in Asia.^[2]

On 26 August 1966, the Asian Development Bank Bill was passed in parliament to allow Singapore to ratify the international agreement to establish the bank,^[3] while the act came into force on 21 September the same year.^[4] Singapore had joined the organisation so that it could have an alternative source of funds to finance its industralisation programmes.^[5] Singapore contributed an initial subscription of US$5 million, which was paid in instalments over a five-year period.^[6] In 1969, Singapore was awarded its first loan of US$10 million, which was used for the expansion of lending activities at the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS).^[7]

During the 1970s and early 1980s, Singapore tapped on the ADB to fund several major projects, including the expansion of Paya Lebar Airport,^[8] the building of the National University of Singapore Hospital^[9] and the Ngee Ann Polytechnic,^[10] a feasibility study of the central area expressway system,^[11] as well as improvements to port, telecommunications and utility infrastructures.^[12] By the 1980s, Singapore had outgrown its borrowing-member status and by the 1990s,^[13] Singapore was urged to contribute to the soft loans of the Asian Development Fund as a Newly Industralised Country (NIC).^[14]

References
1. Wilson, D. (1987). A bank for half of the world: The story of the Asian Development Bank, 1966–1986 (pp. 21–22). [Manila]: Asian Development Bank. Call no.: RBUS 332.153095 WIL.
2. Asian bank to aid industry planned. (1965, March 14). The Straits Times, p. 2. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
3. Singapore. Parliament. Parlimentary Debates: Official Report. (1966, August 26). Second Reading of the Asian Development Bank Bill (Vol. 25, cols. 311–313). Singapore: [s.n.]. Call no.: RCLOS 328.5957 SIN.
4. Singapore. The Statutes of the Republic of Singapore. (2011 Rev. ed.) Asian Development Bank Act (Cap. 15). Retrieved July 18, 2013, from Singapore Statutes Online: http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;ident=b79e5cf0-b5e0-43e6-aea5-f9006be4244d;page=0;query=DocId%3A40895c4c-48d8-46b5-a33e-d9e481cdfd84%20Depth%3A0%20ValidTime%3A18%2F07%2F2013%20TransactionTime%3A18%2F07%2F2013%20Status%3Apublished;rec=0
5. Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 26 Aug 1966, Second Reading, Vol. 25, cols. 311–313.
6. Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 26 Aug 1966, Second Reading, Vol. 25, cols. 311–313.
7. US$10 million loan for DBS from ADB. (1969, July 1). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
8. $60mil ADB loan for S’pore airport. (1970, November 25). The Straits Times, p.11. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
9. $41m loan approved. (1978, December 21). The Straits Times, p. 9. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
10. US$11.3m ADB loan to PUB and Ngee Ann. (1970 December 24). The Straits Times, p. 17. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
11. $3m study for expressway scheme. (1972, November 17). The Straits Times, p. 16. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
12. $228.5 mil ADB loans for Singapore projects. (1973, April 9). The Straits Times, p. 16; S’pore gets US$14.5m loan. (1972, November 10). The Straits Times, p. 11. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
13. Singapore may contribute to ADB soft loans. (1992, May 5). The Business Times, p. 2. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
14. S’pore urged to donate to ADF. (1996, May 2). The Business Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.