HONG KONG, Jan 18 — Russia expects the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to approve its first loans within six months, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said today.
China officially launched the new bank, which is seen as a rival to the US-led World Bank, yesterday
Russia, the third largest shareholder in the AIIB after China and India, would like the new bank to contribute to infrastructure projects in the so called Arctic or Northern Sea Route, the deputy prime minister said. These could be railways to transport cargo to port along the maritime route.
“At the board of directors today we will hopefully decide on policy guidance,” Dvorkovich told the Asia Financial Forum in Hong Kong. "Hopefully we will have first loans provided within six months."
The AIIB is expected to lend US$10 billion-US$15 billion (RM44.1-66.1 billion) a year for the first five or six years.
Despite opposition from Washington, U.S. allies including Australia, Britain, German, Italy, the Philippines and South Korea have agreed to join the bank in recognition of China's growing economic clout.
Cash-strapped Europe, which is just emerging for the crisis that rocked euro zone countries, is hoping to play an important role in the AIIB initiative, European ministers attending the Asia Financial Forum Said.
Some hoped the bank could ease ongoing global geopolitical tensions by building an economic bridge between different regions of the world.
“The AIIB is a sort of a peace initiative. If the economies of the Silk Road are more intertwined we get more stability,” said Pierre Gramegna, Minister of Finance of Luxembourg. — Reuters
