The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it plans to mobilize $30 billion by 2030 to help Southeast Asian nations strengthen economic resilience, deepen capital markets, and accelerate regional energy connectivity as the bloc faces mounting geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
ADB President Masato Kanda announced the commitment during the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, where leaders welcomed the lender’s expanded role in supporting the region’s long-term development agenda amid rising global volatility and supply chain disruptions.
The financing package includes $6 billion earmarked for capital market development and $5 billion for the ASEAN Power Grid initiative, part of ADB’s broader pledge of up to $10 billion for the regional electricity integration project through 2035.
The bank said the funding would also support investments tied to artificial intelligence readiness, blue economy initiatives, and river resilience projects across Southeast Asia.
“ASEAN has clear priorities and strong ambitions, but the challenge now is delivery, especially as the region faces a period of compounding crises,” Kanda said in a statement released during the summit chaired by Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The announcement comes as multilateral lenders and governments across Asia seek to shore up infrastructure financing and economic buffers against risks linked to geopolitical tensions, slowing global trade, and conflicts affecting energy and commodity markets.
Kanda told ASEAN leaders that ADB was prepared to help countries manage spillover risks from the conflict in the Middle East, including disruptions to trade routes and supply chains.
The bank said it has temporarily reactivated private sector support for oil imports through its Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program while also extending fast-disbursing budget support to economies under fiscal strain.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn described the initiative as a “landmark partnership” that signaled confidence in the bloc’s economic ambitions and regional integration agenda.
ADB, founded in 1966 and owned by 69 member economies, has increasingly expanded its focus on climate financing, energy transition, and private capital mobilization across Asia and the Pacific.
