World Bank approves $250 mln loan for Indonesia's fight against coronavirus

May 30, 2020, 03.11 PM | Source: Reuters
World Bank approves $250 mln loan for Indonesia's fight against coronavirus

ILUSTRASI. FILE PHOTO: A man is silhouetted against the logo of the World Bank at the main venue for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meeting in Tokyo, Japan October 10, 2012. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo


WORLD BANK - ​JAKARTA. The World Bank on Friday said it has approved a $250 million loan for Indonesia as it tackles the new coronavirus pandemic, helping the Southeast Asian country plug a ballooning fiscal deficit.

The money will be used to equip COVID-19 referral facilities, improve the capacity for intensive care and availability of personal protective equipment, and to strengthen the laboratory network and surveillance system, the bank said in a statement.

The loan was provided as part of coordinated financing efforts with other multinational banks, the Washington-based lender said.

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It added that Indonesia would also receive $250 million in co-financing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and $200 million in parallel financing from the Islamic Development Bank.

Indonesia expects to run a fiscal deficit equivalent to 6.3% of gross domestic product this year, the widest in more than a decade, as it allocates $43 billion in spending on COVID-19 response and economic stimulus.

The country had already secured a $1.5 billion loan from the Manila-based Asian Development Bank in April.

The country's total number of coronavirus cases as of Friday was 25,216, with 1,520 fatalities.

Editor: Yudho Winarto

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