Beijing held opening ceremony of AIIB
"Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has started operation. The establishment of the bank allows us to improve the opportunities for infrastructure development in Asia and promote regional economic integration. The formal establishment of AIIB is of particular importance for the reform of global economic governance. We hope that member countries will increase their investments," said President of China Xi Jinping in his speech at the event.
Former Deputy Minister of Finance of China Jin Liqun was named the head of the bank. Lou Jiwei, Minister of Finance of China, has been assigned the position of the chairman of the board.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang announced the AIIB initiative during their respective visits to Southeast Asian countries in October 2013. The Bank was envisaged to promote interconnectivity and economic integration in the region and cooperate with existing multilateral development banks.
The agreement establishing AIIB was signed June 29, 2015 by representatives of 57 countries-founders of the bank. Among them are: Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Brunei, United Kingdom, Vietnam, Georgia, Germany, Denmark, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Iceland, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan China, Kuwait, Laos, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey , Uzbekistan, Philippines, Finland, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Sri Lanka, South Africa, South Korea.
The authorized capital of the bank amounts to $100 billion.