Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $350mn policy-based loan to aid Kazakhstan's fiscal governance and financial sector reforms in order to bolster the  Central Asian nation’s economy against external shocks, the lender said in a statement.

"Kazakhstan's reforms are fundamental in fortifying fiscal management, transparency, sustainability, governance, and financial sector stability and inclusion," said ADB director general for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov. "Advancement in these realms will foster fiscal and banking resilience, while nurturing the country's capital markets. The approval of this pioneering program, the first policy-based loan for Kazakhstan, is instrumental in fortifying the country's economic resilience through reforms, especially pertinent given the current global and regional context."

The funding is set to be provided under the Fiscal Governance and Financial Sector Reforms Programme by ADB. It backs fiscal reforms to reinforce governance and accountability in public investments, ensuring debt sustainability.

The initiative aims to fortify the financial governance framework of the National Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan to uphold transparency and fiduciary control.

"ADB's program will establish an enabling environment crucial for developing the government securities market, integrating climate policy accounting and assessment," said ADB principal financial sector economist Joao Pedro Farinha. "It will offer support to women, notably through gender-responsive budgeting, and establish enduring public backing for women's entrepreneurship."

The programme backs policies nurturing sustainable financial intermediation, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. The reforms will augment banking supervision effectiveness and promote funding for environmentally responsible investments.

Manila-based ADB will extend a $650,000 technical assistance grant to back the execution of the programme's reform actions. The Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is set to provide parallel co-financing of $350mn for “subprogram 1”.

Kazakhstan became ADB's first Central Asian member in 1994. Since the country joined, ADB has provided over $6.8bn in government and private sector loans and grants for technical assistance.