AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) news

[ahojunk]

The title is slightly misleading, it gives the impression that both banks are competitors. Canada's Morneau is explaining the difference in focus of AIIB and World Bank.

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Canada’s Morneau Says China’s AIIB Isn’t a World Bank Rival
by Theophilos Argitis, Bloomberg
September 12, 2016 — 2:01 PM AEST

Bill Morneau. Photographer: Chris Goodney/Bloomberg​

Canada’s finance minister said he doesn’t believe the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is a rival to the Washington-based World Bank.

Bill Morneau, speaking in an interview last week in Hong Kong, said the $100 billion Asian investment bank has proven it is a well-governed institution that will be a positive contributor to growth. The World Bank, meanwhile, is making a real difference on refugee and global health issues, Morneau said, adding he supports a second term for President Jim Yong Kim.

Canada’s decision to become a member of the Asian bank was a diplomatic victory for President Xi Jinping. It will become the first North American country to join, leaving the U.S. and Japan as the only Group of Seven holdouts.

“The goal of having more access to capital for infrastructure investment in Asia is a very positive goal in terms of actually dealing with some of the challenges faced in some Asian countries around infrastructure development,” Morneau said, adding the U.S. “can understand” Canada’s decision to join.

Canada will support the U.S.’s decision to nominate Kim for a second term at the World Bank, Morneau added. “We think Kim has done a good job. We think he’s been focused on issues that are going to have a real impact.”

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Nothing like a good good Opportunistic , Young man , that is why young people are appreciated. They are bold and make ambitious choices

 

[ahojunk]

What the Dutch advisor said makes lots of sense.

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AIIB has swift start, solid governance, good cooperation: Dutch policy advisor
(Xinhua) | Updated: 2016-09-14 08:58

After a swift start, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has solid governance, good policies and good cooperation among members to take the challenge of building up more projects, a Dutch policy advisor said on Tuesday.

The policy advisor at the Dutch Ministry of Finance made the remarks at a workshop at Groningen University in the north of the Netherlands.

"What remains now the main challenge is to build up more standalone projects and do it more in the private sector. Also is important the implementation of the policies in practice," Alex Niatsetski told dozens of researchers attending the workshop on the impact, opportunities and difficulties of the Belt and Road Initiative for the China-EU relations.

Niatsetski, who is also advisor to a Dutch alternate member of the board of directors at the AIIB, emphasized that the Beijing-based lender is not a Chinese bank but an international financial institution with its own governance to serve two basic goals -- to foster sustainable economic development in the region by amongst others investing in infrastructure and to promote regional cooperation.

"It has been a really swift process since the announcement of the initiative by Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2013," he said.

"In March 2015 the Netherlands decided to join as prospective founding member. After intensive negotiations about the policies and strategies of the bank, the final agreement has been satisfactory for all the prospective founding members. The Netherlands ratified the treaty in December. Then in January, the official inauguration of the AIIB took place in Beijing and the bank officially became operational. And half a year after that inauguration, the first four projects have been approved by the board of directors in Beijing," he explained.

In his analysis, the Netherlands has clear arguments to be a member of the AIIB.

"We really recognize the great financial gap in infrastructure sectors in the region, and that by complementing to that gap, by offering capital through the bank, we would foster economic growth and by doing that as an open economy with a big export sector, we could benefit from it ourselves," he said.

"The second argument is the direct influence on policies. As a prospective founding member, you are sitting at the table and negotiating on policies, you can really have influence. The third argument is a geopolitical one: it is important to cooperate within the region, with China but also with other members," he added.

As to the management of the bank, the Dutch expert noted that the consensus rule works really well in practice.

"The board comes together four times a year, and decides on more operational questions like policies and projects, but in practice they decide by consensus. Our experience so far is that the president of the bank, who is Chinese, really manages these dynamics really well," said the Dutch policy advisor.

Niatsetski believed that the AIIB has solid environmental and social policies comparable to that of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, saying "We made analyses about the differences and those are really minor, so it is really solid."

"Also, the procurement policy which looks at how the contracts are awarded to companies who build the infrastructure is also along the international standards. Dutch companies can also apply for projects if they have the best price-quality deal," he added.

Niatsetski considered it important to underline that for the AIIB, there is no competition with other IFIs (international financial institutions).

"The first thing that the AIIB did was making co-financing agreements with other MDBs," said the policy advisor.

"That means that the AIIB in the starting phase can trust the knowledge and guideline and capacity of other Multilateral Development Banks, and they can build their own experience from that. I think that is a very good signal," he said.

In June, AIIB approved its first four loans totalling $509 million to fund infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Indonesia. These projects span the energy, urban development and transport sectors.

The AIIB, which supports infrastructure development and regional connectivity in Asia, is targeting at lending of about $1.2 billion in 2016.

The AIIB will begin reviewing membership applications in September as it calls on more countries and regions to join its infrastructure funding efforts. Canada has decided to apply for membership. If Canada joins the AIIB, it will be the first North American member of the multilateral bank.

 

[ahojunk]

China-led AIIB appoints new French vice-president
Janne Suokas
2016/09/19

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has appointed Thierry de Longuemar as the bank’s new vice-president in charge of finances, replacing Korea’s Hong Kyttack who recently left the bank due to a scandal related to his previous post at home.

The appointment of Thierry de Longuemar, a French national, means that three out of five vice-president’s positions in the newly-established Chinese-led development bank are now held by Europeans.

“I am delighted to announce Mr. Thierry de Longuemar’s appointment to this important leadership position. He brings with him decades of highly relevant experience that will serve the Bank well in the years ahead. I look forward to working with him when he takes up his position later this month,” AIIB President Jin Liqun said in a statement released on Monday.

De Longuemar first joined the Beijing-based AIIB in June as chief financial officer after announcing his retirement from the vice-president’s position at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

He replaces South Korea’s Hong Kyttack who resigned from the AIIB’s vice-president’s position due to scandal related to his previous job at the Korean Development Bank.

France is one of the founding members in the AIIB which was established by China last year to fund infrastructure projects in Asia.

Initially seen as rival to the Japanese-led ADB and the Washington-based World Bank, the bank officially started operations in January with 57 member countries and US$100bn in capital.

Following de Longuemar’s appointment, the AIIB’s five vice-president now come from Great Britain, France, Germany, India, and Indonesia.

China is the largest stakeholder in the bank, followed by India, Russia, Germany and South Korea.

The appointment of de Longuemar, who has earlier served in the African Development Bank too, can be seen as another step taken by the AIIB to assure that it is a true multilateral lending institution rather than merely a foreign policy tool for Beijing.

The AIIB is also cooperating with other development banks. Three of its first four projects announced in June are being co-financed with the ADB, the World Bank and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.

With Canada announcing its decision to apply for AIIB membership during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent visit to China, the bank expects more than 30 new countries to join at the beginning of next year.

The United States and Japan have not joined the AIIB, but both are indirectly cooperating with it through the ADB and the World Bank.

 

[TaiShang]

A nice map to sum things up (Europe is the largest participant region as founding members):

 

[ahojunk]

Permanent headquarters of AIIB to be built in Beijing
2016-09-23 18:36:08 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Huang Shan

The ground-breaking ceremony for AIIB has been held in Beijing on September 23, 2016.
[Photo: 163.com]​

A ground-breaking ceremony for Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's permanent headquarters was held in Beijing on Friday.

Officials from the Ministry of Finance and Beijing municipal government attended the ceremony, hoping AIIB will promote the regional integration of Asia in the future.

The headquarters will be located in the north of Beijing, between the Olympic Forest Park and the iconic Bird's Nest Stadium, a stadium built for the 2008 Olympics.

Jin Liqun, the president of AIIB, expects the new building to become a landmark.

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.

The AIIB, which supports infrastructure development and regional connectivity in Asia, targets lending about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2016.

 

[ahojunk]

More news on the ground breaking ceremony...

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AIIB breaks ground for headquarters in Beijing
2016-09-24 08:17 | Xinhua Editor: Huang Mingrui

A groundbreaking ceremony for the permanent headquarters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was held on Friday in Beijing.

The headquarters will be located in the north of Beijing, between the Olympic Forest Park and the iconic Bird's Nest Stadium, with construction expected to be completed by the end of 2019, the bank said in an online statement.

Speaking at the ceremony, AIIB President Jin Liqun said,"This Bank sets out to be lean, clean and green, and there is no better site in Beijing to highlight our green commitment than alongside the beautiful Olympic Forest Park."

The AIIB has been using temporary offices on downtown Beijing's Financial Street since beginning operations in January.

Jin expects the headquarters to serve as a new city landmark and provide a solid foundation for the bank's development.

The first chairman of the AIIB board of governors and Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei and Mayor of Beijing Wang Anshun attended the ceremony.

The AIIB is a not-for-profit bank initiated by China and supported by a wide range of countries and regions. With authorized capital of 100 billion U.S. dollars, it aims to provide financing for infrastructure improvement in Asia.

In June, the bank approved its first four loans, totaling 509 million dollars, to fund power, housing and transportation projects in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

 

[ahojunk]

Thu Sep 29, 2016 | 5:40am EDT | Reuters
China-led AIIB approves $320 mln in loans to Pakistan, Myanmar power projects

The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved loans totalling $320 million to energy projects aiming to ease severe power shortages in Myanmar and Pakistan, the bank said on Thursday.

A $300-million loan will fund expansion of a hydropower project in Pakistan, co-financed with the World Bank, and a loan of $20 million went to a power plant in Myanmar co-financed with other lenders, the bank said in a statement.

"With the approval of two new projects, we are well on our way to meeting our target to extend financing of $1.2 billion in 2016," said President Jin Liqun, adding that the move met a core mandate of backing green and cost-effective infrastructure.

The bank has previously co-financed projects such as a slum renovation in Indonesia and highway construction in Pakistan and Tajikistan.

Crisis-hit Mongolia plans to pitch a number of railway projects to the AIIB as it steps up efforts to attract investment and boost trade, Reuters reported this month.

The bank, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping two years ago, began operations in January, with 57 founding member countries and $100 billion in committed capital. (Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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For more info on the loan to Myanmar, see this link
https://defence.pk/threads/myanmar-military-economy-news-and-updates.347379/page-55#post-8761294

 

[ahojunk]

AIIB opens Myanmar book amid falling FDI
ASIA / 05-10-16 / BY FINBARR BERMINGHAM

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has issued its first loan in Myanmar.

The AIIB will lend US$20mn to the Myingyan gas-fired power plant, which will also receive US$58mn from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and potentially US$42.2mn from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The 230MW plant will be constructed by Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries, who won what is considered to be the first wholly international tendering process in the country’s sector.

This will add to a gas-powered network which has seen a total capacity of 270MW in 2011, produced entirely by state-run plants, augmented by almost 1,000MW of private plants since.

Development banks are circling Myanmar, hoping to bolster their investments in a country which has lost much of its sheen to commercial investors over the past 12 months.

A long electoral period which eventually saw the National League for Democracy (NLD) sweep to power earlier this year, coincided with a sharp drop in foreign direct investment (FDI) into Myanmar in 2015.

FDI fell from a peak of US$8bn in 2014 to US$3.9bn last year. The NLD, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, is expected to announce a comprehensive economic policy in the coming months, which could serve to assuage investors’ fears, particularly given the US’ surprise decision to lift economic and trade sanctions on Myanmar in September.

The sanctions had been in place since 1989 over human rights abuses. While some 100 companies and individuals remain on a blacklist, many will be fully lifted, although a final deadline has not been set for their removal.

While things are uncertain, then, it could well be down to caution rather than long-term reluctance to trade in or with Myanmar, one of Asia’s frontier markets.

“I’m still quite positive about Myanmar,” Khaing Zar Aung, head of insurer Willis’ representative office in Yangon tells GTR down a crackly phone line.

She explains: “I know FDI is down by 85% and that affects our business obviously. With the new government, we thought investment would be rushing in and everyone would be keen to do business in Myanmar. But in reality, because of a lot of changes in regulation, a lot of investors have held back, a lot of projects have been pushed back until industrial policy has been refocused.”

Aung adds that many companies appear to be awaiting a codification of economic policy before moving. Insurance premiums are down, she says, but that has meant more people are taking them out. For Willis, volume is up, even if the average premium value is down.

Much planned investment in the construction has been put on ice after the government suspended all planned projects in Yangon, the largest city and former capital, with more than nine storeys, including those that are in construction.

In an explanatory note, the government cited issues such as lack of fire-safety systems, lack of parking space, violations of road-to-building rules and breaches of planning permission approval on height.

Meanwhile, the IFC recently said that it would more than double its lending to Myanmar by the end of 2018. The commercial arm of the World Bank plans to have a portfolio of US$600mn by the end of this year, rising to US$800mn by mid-2017 – a huge increase on September’s US$386mn portfolio.

In addition to the Myingyan plant, the IFC has recently announced a US$10mn loan to chemicals company Myanma Awba Group for the construction of a plant north of Yangon. It also lent US$6.5mn to a greenfield poultry breeding farm, Bel Ga Myanmar, in Yangon.

 

[ahojunk]

Philippines to meet requirement status as founding member of AIIB
October 20, 2016
By Barbara Mae Dacanay, Correspondent

Manila: The Philippine government will finalise all the paperwork required to perfect its initial status as a founding member of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) so it could source funds for its major infrastructure projects, sources said. “The AIIB is, for us, the number one priority [of President Rodrigo Duterte in his state visit in China],” said Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez in Beijing, transcript of which reached Malacanang, the presidential palace in Manila. “We will discuss with them (AIIB and other bank executives) our whole plan and we will match it with theirs. We have to go to them and see what their priorities are so we can match our priorities with them,” said Dominguez, adding that AIIB’s assistance will be crucial to the Philippine government’s railway and power projects.

“Joining the AIIB will help us not to be as reliable [as we have been] on the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the European Union. Joining the AIIB will help fund more infrastructure projects for the country in the future, which is an important agenda for the new government,” said Tony Katigbak, columnist of Philippine Star.

Duterte’s ambitious infrastructure development plan was estimated at 7 trillion pesos (Dh534 billion, $152.17 billion or Dh583.3 billion) in six years.

Prospective founding member

By December 2016, the Philippine government must submit its instrument of ratification to perfect its status as one of AIIB’s 22 founding members in 2014, bank officials said.

On October 24, 2014, the Philippines became an AIIB prospective founding member. It submitted signed articles of membership on December 31, 2015 but its instrument of ratification remained pending since then. It has 9.781 per cent shares and 1.1 per cent voting right.

The Philippines was one of 10-member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) which became AIIB founding members in 2014. Asean is composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The 12 other AIIB founding members in 2014 were China, Bangladesh, India, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan.

Allies of the United States such as Australia, Britain, Germany, and South Korea became AIIB members in 2015. Right now AIIB has 57 members. Both the US and Japan refused to become members.

Financial input

AIIB started operating in 2015, after 10 member states that hold 50 per cent of its $100 billion initial subscription finalised their respective instruments of ratification. AIIB’s capitalisation is 2/3 of the capital of the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) and 50 per cent of the World Banks, sources said.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping officially announced the launching of AIIB during a state visit in Indonesia in October 2013, he said China wanted greater financial input (with fewer strings attached) to infrastructure development of developing countries — through an established banking institution similar to the Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank which, he added, were dominated by European, Japanese, and US interests.

The Asian region needs $8 trillion for infrastructure projects to fuel economic development from 2010 to 2020, the ADB said in 2010.

 

[ahojunk]

AIIB is 'good investment for US'
Updated: 2016-10-20 11:47
By Chen Weihua in Washington(China Daily USA)

Joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) would be a good investment for the United States, a prominent economist said.

David Dollar, a senior fellow at the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, made the remarks on Tuesday evening during the annual China Town Hall held by the National Committee on US-China Relations.

Dollar, a former World Bank official and US Treasury official, was the local speaker at the Confucius Institute US Center, just across the street from the Brookings, before former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger made a live-webcast keynote speech to the town hall.

Dollar was in favor of the US joining the AIIB right from the beginning. He said that there was a large number of serious and well-known people who think positively about the AIIB, naming former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and former World Bank President Bob Zoellick.

He admitted that it would be tough to get the Congress to appropriate the money for the US to join the China-led AIIB. "It would take a pretty big educational effort on the part of any administration," Dollar said, triggering laughter among the audience.

"I think that would be a good investment," he added.

Aside from the anti-China sentiment among some US lawmakers, the Republican-controlled Congress has a generally uncooperative relationship with the Obama administration.

US officials, including Undersecretary of Treasury Nathan Sheets on Tuesday, now speak more positively about the AIIB in contrast to their rhetoric earlier this year, when the US was seen as trying to dissuade its close allies - Australia, South Korea and the UK in particular - from joining the AIIB.

Dollar said the AIIB has the potential to quickly grow to the size of the World Bank.

"It's off to a good start," he said, referring to the $509 million in investments approved by AIIB board in late June for four projects.

Three of the four projects are co-financed with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Kingdom Department for International Development and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. They include a power grid in Bangladesh, slum renovation in Indonesia and highway construction in Tajikistan and Pakistan.

Amy He in New York contributed to this story.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com


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IMHO, US is not likely to join AIIB. Too much pride.
If they do, Japan is left holding the empty can.
.

 

[TaiShang]

Belgium hopes to join AIIB: Deputy PM
(CRI Online) October 23, 2016




China's ambassador to Belgium, Qu Xing, says Belgium is strategically located in Europe for the 'belt and road' plan while addressing a Belt and Road forum organized by the Chinese embassy in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium on October 21, 2016. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.COM]

A leading Belgian politician has revealed his country is hoping to become a new member of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The move is believed to be part of a broader initiative to by the Belgian government to attach itself more closely with the Chinese government's 'belt and road' initiative.

Deputy Belgian Prime Minister Kris Peeters has told a Belt and Road forum organized by the Chinese embassy in Brussels that Belgium hopes to become a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank sometime this coming year.

He suggests this is part a bigger plan to become more closely linked to the movement of goods through the Chinese government's 'belt and road' initiative.

"We have much to gain with this initiative. Belgium hopes to become a member the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank next year. Moreover the Belgian ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge are ready to contribute to the success of the Belt and Road Initiative."

China's ambassador to Belgium, Qu Xing, says Belgium is strategically located in Europe for the 'belt and road' plan.

"Regarding the facilities connectivity, in September this year, one month ago, a bloc train of the China railway express arrived for the first time in Antwerp from Xining, in Qinghai province to Antwerp. A Chinese logistics company based in Chengdu is planning to invest for the construction of a Euro-Africa-China trans-shipment center in Antwerp. Once the center comes into operation, Antwerp will become a frequent destination of the China railway express. "

Frank Geerkens with the Antwerp Port Authority says trade with China has allowed his port to become the fastest growing in Europe.

"I'm very happy here to say again the port of Antwerp is a privileged partner for one-belt and one road. One major reason is that it's also a port that exports goods. You see the trade flows between China and Europe, there is imbalance. More goods coming in that means more containers are loaded that being unloaded and empty when going back. We have a balance between incoming and outgoing container loads. That is one belt and one road again. It is two-way trade cooperation and interconnectivity."

The "Belt and Road" program already involves already more than 60 countries which represent over half of global GDP.



Experts and officials talk at a Belt and Road forum organized by the Chinese embassy in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium on October 21, 2016. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.COM]

 

[Nan Yang]

US opposition to AIIB ‘strategic mistake’, says senior Trump adviser
In Op-ed letter to the Post, James Woolsey says he hopes new administration would give ‘much warmer’ response to China’s ‘One Road’ initiative

ZHUANG PINGHUI AND WENDY WU
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 10 November, 2016, 5:29pm

A top adviser of US president-elect Donald Trump has lashed out at the Obama administration for failing to embrace the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, suggesting a possible policy shift come January.

In a letter to the Op-ed pages of the South China Morning Post, James Woolsey, a senior adviser to Trump on national security, defence and intelligence, called the current administration’s opposition to the formation of the AIIB “a strategic mistake”. He hoped the Trump response to the “One Road, One Belt” initiative would be “much warmer”.

More....
http://m.scmp.com/news/china/diplom...tion-aiib-strategic-mistake-says-senior-trump

 

[AndrewJin]

What an interesting time!

 

[Steve781]

What an interesting time!

Don't you use that as a curse?