What's new

AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) news

View from Iceland. They have lots of expertise in geothermal infrastructure projects.

----------------------
Iceland looks to future with AIIB membership
By Luna Finnsson
11:54 am April 21, 2015

Iceland can look forward to future opportunities after announcing that it is to be a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), said one of the country’s senior officials.

The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Economics and Finance, Gudmundur Arnason, said the North Atlantic nation would be able to acquire information and experience by being part of infrastructure initiatives such as AIIB.

Arnason explained that by being part of such schemes, Iceland would have the opportunity to learn how to develop and finance such projects, noting that it was something that was new to the country.

China’s Ministry of Finance announced on 15 April that Iceland – as well as Sweden, Portugal, Poland, South Africa, Azerbaijan and Israel – had been approved as founding members of AIIB, taking the overall number of founding members to 57 countries.

Iceland now plans to be involved in AIIB-financed energy projects across Asia, according to Arnason, who revealed that the energy initiatives could include both geothermal and hydropower schemes. He added that Icelandic businesses could also offer consulting services for general and single projects.

Iceland submitted its application to become a founding member of AIIB on the deadline day of 31 March as its government continues its drive to strengthen ties across Asia.
.
 
Good news for Russia if this is true...

--------------
Russia may become third largest AIIB participant – deputy minister
Published time: April 29, 2015 21:51

aiib.si.jpg

China's Finance Minister Lou Jiwei (L) gives a speech with the guests of the signing ceremony of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing October 24, 2014. (Reuters/Takaki Yajima)

Russia could become the third largest participant in the China-led Asian Infrastructure and Investments Bank (AIIB) and enter its board of directors, said Stanislav Voskresensky, Deputy Minister of Economic Development.

“According expert estimates, Russia ... claims to be the third largest participant, which means it could gain a seat on the board of directors,” Voskresensky told Rossiya-24 TV channel on Wednesday.

That means Russia will be able to influence the bank’s policy and, together with its partners in the Customs Union, offer interesting projects for the bank to fund, he added.

The Asian Bank for Infrastructure Investment (AIIB), established in 2014 by China, will finance infrastructure projects like the construction of roads, railways, and airports in the Asia-Pacific Region.

The initial subscribed capital of AIIB will be $50 billion and there are plans for it to be increased to $100 billion. The bank, with its headquarters located in Beijing, is expected to start its work at the end of 2015.

The number of founding members has reached 57. Russia received the status of founding member on April 14, 2015.
.
 
Russia to Get More Voting Rights in China-Led Bank Than Non-Asian States

15:15 04.05.2015

A diplomatic source said that China will allow Russia to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as an ‘Asian’ member with greater voting rights than non-Asian nations, Asia Times reported.



1014991951.jpg


South Korea will likely take a 3%-3.5% stake in the AIIB, down from an earlier 4% to 5%, now that Russia is expected to join the regional development bank as an ‘Asian’ member.


The Chinese newspaper reported a Yonhap's diplomatic source as saying that China would allow Russia to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as an ‘Asian’ member with greater voting rights than non-Asian nations.

Russia announced its decision to join the AIIB on March 28.

If that is the case, Russia’s Asian designation would seem to specify a preferred status by Beijing which has been moving closer to Moscow in geopolitical terms.

It would also give Russia more voting power in the AIIB which is regarded as a competitor to US-led development banks.

The establishment of the bank has been approved by a vast majority of countries across the world as the US has failed to restructure the existing institutions such as the IMF in accordance with new geopolitical realities, Laurence Summers, President of Harvard University and former US Secretary of the Treasury, said.

The rules that govern the AIIB have yet to be officially announced by China. According to some reports, AIIB’s Asian members could have 75% of the voting rights, while the remaining 25%would go to non-Asian members.

China and other AIIB members are scheduled to hold another round of meetings in Singapore in May before signing the final ‘Articles of Agreement’ governing the AIIB in June.



Read more: Russia to Get More Voting Rights in China-Led Bank Than Non-Asian States / Sputnik International
 
Eric Chu discussed with China about joining AIIB, i'm sure Taiwan will be given the green light to join after it has met Mainland's prerequisite.
 
Eric Chu discussed with China about joining AIIB, i'm sure Taiwan will be given the green light to join after it has met Mainland's prerequisite.

Taiwan needs to accept the title, "Taipei, China."

After all, that's the official title in ADB, as well. The sky won't fall.

Besides, what is more factual than "Taipei, China" title?
 
Taiwan needs to accept the title, "Taipei, China."

After all, that's the official title in ADB, as well. The sky won't fall.

Besides, what is more factual than "Taipei, China" title?
Chinese Tapei, Green prefer more.
 
Chinese Tapei, Green prefer more.

That has been proposed by KMT and DPP both as the bottom line but turned down by Beijing. Rightfully. It should be "Taipei, China" just as HK, China. I guess TW will come to that.
 
Last edited:
What is the next step in China's economic leadership? - Agenda - The World Economic Forum


By Meng Liu and Jeremy Balkin
Apr 30 2015

At this moment in history, the global geopolitical dynamics are changing before our very eyes. China is rising on the global stage, as are Chinese companies. Following the phenomenal economic successes over the past quarter century, China has gradually learnt how to more efficiently and harmoniously integrate into global markets and initiate a transition from a follower to an emerging leader.

Forced to Lead?

It is smart to utilize a country’s relative strength to build up its soft power and exert greater global influence. Taking a perspective from outside of China, this is happening right now in the global financial landscape with the establishment of a new multilateral institution, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) proposed and led by China, and supported by over 50 countries around the world. Despite concerns the AIIB will rival existing multilateral financial institutions like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, in fact the AIIB has been established to compliment the current framework and further facilitate large scale infrastucture investments across the Asian region. According to the Chinese government’s public statement, the goal is to fill in the gap to feed increasing capital needs in support of Asia’s infrastructure development...

Therefore, China is taking a leading role in earning the trust of its neighbour’s by painting a picture for a sustainable long term vision of enhanced regional economic cooperation and prosperity. The AIIB is part of the long term strategic vision that incorporates aggregating global investment capital into the burgeoning infrastructure needs of the Asia region. Building new and efficient infrastructure in India for example, will make imports more affordable and exports more valuable, whilst having a positive social impact on the lives of millions of Indians. It also provides more opportunities for China to export goods and services across the region. But, new infrastructure not only benefits Chinese exports, but greatly benefits the vital raw material exporters in the region like Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand.

Increasing regional and economic cooperation through vital geopolitical collaboration comes at a time when economic nationalism is increasing in other regions. The AIIB offers the broader Asian region a unique opportunity to include natural partners and stakeholders to benefit from the rising economic tide and shared prosperity. This is a win-win situation and in fact, as the AIIB becomes more inclusive it provides greater capacity for the benefits to flow externally. But importantly for China, having increased regional and economic partnerships provides the opportunity for vital skills, expertise, governance and best practices to flow internally that in turn benefit China as it continues to rise.

Historic opportunity

Beyond the political considerations of various countries, the debate over AIIB has largely focused on the bank’s potential governance, transparency, environmental and social standards for infrastructure project financing. By implication, the concerns raised question the existing standards of doing business. That being said, the creation of the AIIB offers a generational opportunity to establish a common code of best practices for infrastructure investment financing that grasps the opportunity to incorporate a robust environmental, social and governance framework among members.

Today, sustainability issues are even more important as global populations become more aware. From a Chinese perspective, the AIIB provides a great opportunity to build up its soft power credentials and be seen as a responsible leader in this sphere. After all, China has a proven record of leading the world’s largest and most successful poverty alleviation campaign in human history. Over the last thirty years China has lifted approximately six hundred million people out of extreme poverty, primarily due to a combination of successful policy and ambitious economic reform.

These great achievements have helped accelerate the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the current affirmation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). China’s successful story is not only recognized by the world, but also has inspired many developing countries to follow the tireless efforts to fight against poverty. AIIB could be the most immediate opportunity for China to work closely with its fellow member states to invent a whole new way of doing business. On the one hand by thinking outside the box, and on the other by innovation and establishing leading standards and practices strengthening the bank’s sustainability and social responsibility. At the end of the day, it will be the people across the region who ultimately benefit from the improvement in basic infrastructure and the associated positive social impact. China is poised to step up to the plate and lead a multilateral financial institution perhaps on the cusp of another great economic success story.

This is a challenging job. However, it is worthwhile to note a number of international organisations have actively developed the basic framework for the concept of social responsibility and sustainability. These include the ten universal principles by the United Nations Global Compact, the Principles for Responsible Investment by the UN Global Compact and UN Environment Program, and the Equator Principles in the area of project financing by the International Finance Corporation. Those universally supported principles and experiences can be good reference points for the AIIB, without denying the fact that AIIB should aim to set its own rules and standards, to break the status quo and invent a new level of global excellence.

Notably, AIIB is taking shape against the broader backdrop of a new post-2015 agenda. The United Nations and its member states are developing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to replace the MDGs. Not surprisingly, this new set of goals will more thoroughly incorporate environmental and social dimensions to the updated global agenda. China has the opportunity to build an updated portfolio in front of the whole world as a leader on sustainability and highly align such globalization efforts like AIIB with the forthcoming SDGs. This is the right time.

Leader or Follower?

While the Chinese government becomes more active on the global stage by launching the AIIB, Chinese companies should also step up and be more proactive in terms of participating in the global policy making process. The private sector should realize in the long run, such engagement could be very beneficial, enabling companies to shape a “soft” environment to operate within. Globally, there is an increased acceptance that corporate social responsibility is a key part of any business model and goes beyond merely focusing on business and investment opportunities.

Many global institutions such as the World Economic Forum and United Nations Global Compact have provided companies with access to the global discussion on pressing challenges, and in many cases, offer invaluable opportunities for companies to participate in shaping the global agenda. On each platform, various working groups have been established to bring together like-minded companies with other stakeholders in solving problems faced in the areas of supply chains, climate and water, anti-corruption, the empowerment of women etc.

Three major Chinese companies, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC), and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), participated in a project led by the United Nations, called Business for Peace. The initiative aimed to work out a guideline for investors and companies that have a business interest and operations in conflict affected regions to advance peace through responsible investment and business practices.

It is recognized by companies that participation in such an exercise can help them raise awareness of the pressing issues they face, and share knowledge from the project that could guide more companies to make positive contributions to peace and development in these high risk regions where they operate. There is an historic opportunity to scale up and align business efforts to make positive contributions to similar goals of all human kind.

The fundamental improvements will only happen if more private sector companies engage and join forces. The AIIB is a unique multilateral framework to collaborate regionally, geographically and cooperatively with all stakeholders to positively influence the allocation of capital, and achieve immense positive social impact through the provision of large scale investment grade infrastructure projects ensuring mutual interest and shared prosperity, sustainably.
 
Russia to Get More Voting Rights in China-Led Bank Than Non-Asian States

15:15 04.05.2015

A diplomatic source said that China will allow Russia to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as an ‘Asian’ member with greater voting rights than non-Asian nations, Asia Times reported.



1014991951.jpg


South Korea will likely take a 3%-3.5% stake in the AIIB, down from an earlier 4% to 5%, now that Russia is expected to join the regional development bank as an ‘Asian’ member.


The Chinese newspaper reported a Yonhap's diplomatic source as saying that China would allow Russia to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as an ‘Asian’ member with greater voting rights than non-Asian nations.

Russia announced its decision to join the AIIB on March 28.

If that is the case, Russia’s Asian designation would seem to specify a preferred status by Beijing which has been moving closer to Moscow in geopolitical terms.

It would also give Russia more voting power in the AIIB which is regarded as a competitor to US-led development banks.

The establishment of the bank has been approved by a vast majority of countries across the world as the US has failed to restructure the existing institutions such as the IMF in accordance with new geopolitical realities, Laurence Summers, President of Harvard University and former US Secretary of the Treasury, said.

The rules that govern the AIIB have yet to be officially announced by China. According to some reports, AIIB’s Asian members could have 75% of the voting rights, while the remaining 25%would go to non-Asian members.

China and other AIIB members are scheduled to hold another round of meetings in Singapore in May before signing the final ‘Articles of Agreement’ governing the AIIB in June.



Read more: Russia to Get More Voting Rights in China-Led Bank Than Non-Asian States / Sputnik International

Can you post the list of voting rights held by all nations in AIIB
 
Can you post the list of voting rights held by all nations in AIIB

You mean percentages by member state? I guess there is no such list as yet. I would guess the three top nation would be China, Russia and India.

According to the AIIB website:

<<Q8: What will be AIIB’s capital base?

The authorized capital of AIIB is expected to be USD 100 billion. As a regional development bank, AIIB’s regional members will be the majority shareholders; non-regional members will hold smaller equity shares. This shareholding arrangement reflects the commitment and ownership of regional members while providing non-regional members the opportunity to participate actively. >>

So, as people speculate, Asian members will retain the majority of the share (75%-80%). The rest will be given to the remaining prospective founding members (PFMs).
 
You mean percentages by member state? I guess there is no such list as yet. I would guess the three top nation would be China, Russia and India.

According to the AIIB website:

<<Q8: What will be AIIB’s capital base?

The authorized capital of AIIB is expected to be USD 100 billion. As a regional development bank, AIIB’s regional members will be the majority shareholders; non-regional members will hold smaller equity shares. This shareholding arrangement reflects the commitment and ownership of regional members while providing non-regional members the opportunity to participate actively. >>

So, as people speculate, Asian members will retain the majority of the share (75%-80%). The rest will be given to the remaining prospective founding members (PFMs).

Good to know atleast we are in top 3
 
Good to know atleast we are in top 3

I guess India's presence is valuable. Much more valuable than, I would say, Japan.

Pragmatically, Japan would be a competitor as well as a partner and also, with its share as an Asian country, would be an asset for the US to weaken/dilute China's influence.

I anticipate India to care more about its own interests and side with the rest of Asian partners.
 
I guess India's presence is valuable. Much more valuable than, I would say, Japan.

Pragmatically, Japan would be a competitor as well as a partner and also, with its share as an Asian country, would be an asset for the US to weaken/dilute China's influence.

I anticipate India to care more about its own interests and side with the rest of Asian partners.

Well I agree with you since India has stayed with Asia many more times than other Asian Countries Like Japan,Pakistan,China etc
 
Can you post the list of voting rights held by all nations in AIIB

The vote share is expected to be based on 50 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 50 per cent Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) with primacy to be given to the Asian countries as the bank primarily aims to fund infrastructure projects mainly in the Asian region. A much better methodology than IMF - China and India have been on the same side with their struggle at IMF. Still to be finalized though.
 
Back
Top Bottom