BEIJING - Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said on Friday it would lend $100 million to Bangladesh to help the country deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project will be co-financed by the World Bank and aims to increase the country's testing, tracing and treatment capacity, as well as its pandemic preparedness, according to a statement by the AIIB.

The loan is part of AIIB's $13 billion funding facility to help public and private sectors fight the pandemic. The bank had already loaned Bangladesh $250 million through this facility in May.

(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) ((Gabriel.Crossley@thomsonreuters.com; +86 10 5669 2127;))