ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK (AIIB) – INTERNATIONAL
News: AIIB
says internal review found 'no evidence' of China influence
What's in the news?
● The
China-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said that there was
"no evidence" it was dominated by Beijing's ruling Communist Party,
as it released a review into explosive claims made by a former executive.
Key takeaways:
● Bob
Pickard, a former communications chief, resigned from the lender last month,
saying it "serves China's interest" and was "a resource to the
geopolitical goals" of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
● China's
foreign ministry denied the allegations, saying the bank operated with
"openness, meritocracy and transparency".
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank:
● Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral
development bank with a mission to improve
social and economic outcomes in Asia.
● Headquarters:
Beijing, China.
Key objectives:
● To
promote sustainable economic development, create wealth and augment
infrastructure connectivity in Asia by investing in infrastructure & other
productive sectors.
● Working
towards fostering regional partnership & cooperation to address
developmental challenges by working in tandem with other bilateral and
multilateral development institutions.
● Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) promotes investment in private & public capital for development purposes.
● AIIB
uses the resources at its disposal for funding development in the region,
including projects that will contribute to the balanced economic growth of the
region.
● AIIB
also works for promoting private investment in enterprises, activities, and
projects contributing to economic development in the region wherever private
capital is not available.
Members:
● Currently,
there are 104 member countries in AIIB.
● India
is one of the founding members of AIIB.
● The
U.S. and Japan are not among their members.
Membership Criteria:
● Membership
to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is open to all members of the Asian Development Bank
or the World Bank.
● The
bank also allows non-sovereign entities
to apply for membership provided their home countries are members.
Voting rights:
● China
is the largest shareholder with 26.61 % voting shares in the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank followed by India (7.6%), Russia (6.01%) and
Germany (4.2 %).
● The
regional members hold 75% of the
total voting power in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)