FACTBOX: ADB to increase lending after donors hike commitments

(Reuters) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will formally receive a 200 percent hike in its capital base at its annual meeting this week to help the multilateral lender increase loans to developing nations.

Here are some facts about the ADB:

* Founded in 1966 to help fight poverty in Asia, the Manila-headquartered bank is owned and financed by its 67 member countries, of which 48 are from the region and 19 are from other parts of the globe.

* The bank's president is traditionally from Japan, the lender's biggest donor along with the United States.

* The ADB provides low interest loans, guarantees, grants, private sector investments and expertise to boost the livelihoods of about 1.8 billion people in the region who still live on less than $2 a day.

* In 2008, the bank approved $10.5 billion worth of loans, $811.4 million in grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $274.5 million.

* India, China, Pakistan and Indonesia were the biggest borrowers in 2008.

* The bank borrowed $9.37 billion from international capital markets to fund its operations. It is a triple-A rated institution. It also raised $2.87 million in short-term funds during the year.

* In 2008, the bank adopted a long-term strategic framework, Strategy 2020, which followed three agendas: inclusive growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration.

* Donors have agreed to increase the bank's capital base to about $165 billion from $55 billion to enable it to raise more funds and increase lending. The ADB has said lending could rise to about $33 billion over 2009 and 2010, around 50 percent higher than the last two years.

* As of end-2008, the bank had 2,506 employees, including around 870 international staff, mostly at its headquarters in Manila. Japan had the highest number of international staff, followed by the United States and India.

(Source: www.adb.org.)

(Reporting by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)