The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved $509 million in loans for its first 4 projects. This marks the beginning of the AIIB’s full-scale banking operations.
Bank officials announced on Friday that $165 million will be independently invested to improve power line networks in Bangladesh.
The other three loans will be financed jointly with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other financial institutions. A sum of $216.5 million will renovate slums and improve living conditions in Indonesia, $100 million will construct highways in Pakistan and $27.5 million will improve highways in Tajikistan, NHK reported.
AIIB officials are apparently calling attention to the fact that they are co-financing projects in cooperation with existing global financial institutions.
The AIIB will continue close cooperation with all European countries and United Kingdom following Brexit, bank’s president Jin Liqun said Saturday at its first annual meeting.
He said that AIIB will add new members, including Hong Kong.
Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the bank two years ago and it began operations in January, with 57 founding member countries and $100 billion in committed capital, which it plans to invest in projects across the region.
The AIIB, which intends to invest $1.2 billion this year, said it is aiming to meet international standards of governance, although some members say there is still work to be done.
And in response to concern that China, its biggest backer, will dominate, the AIIB said it answers to all its shareholders.
“China as much as other shareholders has been very supportive of the governance standards that we’re setting and of the transparency around the bank’s operations,” AIIB vice president Danny Alexander said.
