ADB shutdown headquarters over coronavirus scare

• The Bank’s Manila headquarters facility will be closed from 12 March to undertake cleaning and disinfecting.
• ADB said that its operations will continue.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Thursday, that it is closing headquarters in Manila, Philippines to undertake coronavirus (COVID-19) disinfecting.

Staff at the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) headquarters in Manila, Philippines are temporarily working from home from today following advice that a visitor to the Bank has tested positive for the coronavirus COVID-19.

“The Bank’s Manila headquarters facility will be closed from 12 March to undertake cleaning and disinfecting,” stated ADB.  The bank said its operations will continue, ADB Management will make a decision in the coming days on when to reopen the Bank premises.

“The safety of staff, visitors to the Bank, and their families is of utmost importance to us. We are providing support to staff who interacted with the visitor,” said ADB Vice President for Administration and Corporate Management Ms. Deborah Stokes.

The ADB will make available $200 million through its Supply Chain Finance Program for companies manufacturing and distributing medicines and other items needed to combat the novel coronavirus.

“The support will target companies in the supply chain that are critical to fighting the virus,” said ADB’s Head of Trade and Supply Chain Finance Steven Beck. “We’re looking to support companies that want to ramp up production and therefore need to engage suppliers.”

Given that a single pool of supply chain finance is typically used for a subsequent delivery over a period of 120–180 days, the $200 million facility could support more than $400 million of financing over the next 12 months. Fifty-fifty risk sharing from partner commercial banks could boost support under the facility to $800 million over the same period.