THE TALE OF A BANK

By+Yuan+Yuan

From an idea on paper to a fully fledged body， the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank （AIIB） was finally unveiled after two years of preparation.

On January 16， representatives from 57 countries as founding members of the AIIB gathered in Beijing for the banks inauguration.

“Now is a moment that will be recorded in history，” Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the inauguration ceremony. “The found- ing and opening of the AIIB will effectively boost investment to support infrastructure development in Asia.”

From 21 to 57

The idea of the bank was first raised by Xi during a visit to Indonesia in October 2013.

One year later， on October 24， 2014， representatives of 21 Asian countries that were willing to join the AIIB as founding members signed a memorandum of understanding（MoU） on establishing the AIIB in Beijing. The MoU specified that the authorized capital of the AIIB is $100 billion， and that the initial subscribed capital is expected to be around$50 billion. In March 2015， the United Kingdom declared its interest in becoming a founding member of the AIIB as the first Western country applying， which was shortly followed by 17 other European countries including France， Germany and Italy.

In April 2015， 57 countries were confirmed to have joined or applied to join the AIIB as prospective founding members. These 57 countries are from Asia， Europe， Africa， Oceania and South America， including four countries from the G7 and 14 from the G20.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang elaborated on his vision for the new multilateral development bank at the inaugural meeting of the AIIB Board of Governors. “It is important for the AIIB to follow the trend of economic globalization and regional integration and meet the needs of developing members for industrialization and urbanization，” he noted.

“The popularity of the AIIB stems from its win-win nature as the bank serves to enhance connectivity among Asian countries by supporting infrastructure development. A prosperous Asia will offer huge markets for global enterprises， which are hungry for business opportunities， and will boost international economic growth，” Jin Liqun， President of the AIIB， told Xinhua News Agency in December 2015.

Jin said that the process of establishing the AIIB was also about developing gradual understanding and support of the international community toward the China-backed proposal.

Jin knows the matter well. The veteran of finance used to serve as vice minister of finance of China， and was the vice president of the Asian Development Bank and chairman of the Board of Supervisors for Chinas sovereign wealth fund， the China Investment Corp.

In 2014， at the age of 65， he was appointed secretary general of the Multilateral Interim Secretariat of the AIIB， which was responsible for executing technical preparations and providing professional support and services for the eight rounds of meetings of chief negotiators of the banks prospective founding members. These meetings， running from November 2014 through November 2015， finalized the AIIBs Articles of Agreement （AOA）， which outline the financial share of each founding member as well as rules for policymaking， governance structure and business and operational systems of the bank， and reached agreement on other issues related to its establishment.

On January 17， Jin was elected as the AIIBs first president.

“China received much support from multilateral financial institutions and aid during the past three decades. The worlds second largest economy is now sharing the responsibility and doing something for the rest of the world， hence the establishment of the AIIB，” Jin said.

How it works

With an authorized capital of $100 billion， the AIIB will invest in infrastructure， energy， transportation， urban construction， water supply and logistics as well as education and healthcare.

Member countries have to inject a required sum of capital in five batches starting from 30 days after the AIIBs AOA take effect， until the end of 2017.

Based on the GDP volume and capital contribution， China holds the highest voting stake among all members. As new members join， all founding members shares and voting stakes will be “gradually diluted.”

The AIIB has a clear three-tier structure—a board of governors， a board of directors and a management team， which will carry out their duties accordingly.

Thirty of the 57 prospective founding members， representing over 74 percent of the shares， have ratified the AIIBs AOA， thus becoming its full members， Jin told reporters at a press conference in Beijing on January 17. The remaining prospective founding members will have completed their membership processes by the end of this year， he explained.

According to Jin， the AIIB plans to bring the first loans for approval before the end of the year.

In his interview with Xinhua last December， Jin said that profit maximization will not be the AIIBs goal due to its multilateral financial institution status， but the banks investment projects have to be profitable to ensure financial sustainability. In terms of the energy sector， he said that the bank will take account of Asias rising energy demands and the battle against climate change when deciding if it will finance coal-fired and nuclear power projects.

Jin also pledged zero tolerance on corruption. “We will make the bank lean， clean and green，” he said， adding that there will be a unit responsible for “compliance， effectiveness and integrity，” which will report directly to the Board of Directors.

Wide recognition

“The AIIB is bound to play a positive role in promoting global economic growth，” said Chen Gang， a senior research fellow with the East Asia Institute at the National University of Singapore.“Established mainly by Western powers， the existing financial system has set a lot of limits on developing countries. The gap can be filled by the AIIB.”

He believes Chinas growing national strength will boost the development banks financial capability， which will be conducive to all countries， particularly developing ones.

Ibrahim Yusuf， Executive Director of the Indonesia Council on World Affairs， echoed Chen in regards to the functions that the AIIB plays. “The new multilateral mechanism is a supplement and contribution to the existing global financial governance framework，”Yusuf said.

Treasury Secretary of New Zealand Gabriel Makhlouf thanked the Chinese Government for its role in establishing a“significant new addition to the worlds international financial architecture.”

“The economic potential of Asia is unmatched， and realizing that potential， with the help of the AIIB， will support better economic performance in New Zealand，” said Makhlouf.

Business publication Exame in Brazil， the only Latin American country among the AIIBs 57 founding members， focused on the benefits that the AIIB would bring to developing countries， particularly Chinas pledge to create a $50-million special fund to support infrastructure project preparations for the less developed among AIIB members.

In the eyes of British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond， the AIIB allows his country “to support Asias economic development and to share our experience of international financial institution regulation in developing the governance model for the AIIB.”