Luxembourg to be first nation outside Asia to host annual meeting of China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
- AIIB vice-president says no decision yet on role for Hong Kong in lender’s operations
Luxembourg, the first European country to apply to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, will host the AIIB’s annual meeting next month, the first time the gathering has taken place outside of Asia.
Luxembourg will also host the second annual Asian Infrastructure Forum, a networking event run by the bank.
Danny Alexander, the bank’s vice-president and former chief secretary of the British Treasury, said in Beijing on Wednesday that the meeting on July 12 and 13 would focus on connectivity between Europe and Asia.
In May, the bank raised US$2.5 billion with its first international bond issue, and Alexander said the lender would now start to meet demand for funding from member states.
Hong Kong joined the AIIB in March 2017 and lobbied the bank to open an office or move its treasury operations there, hoping for a boost to its financial and legal services sector.
Soon after the bank started business in 2016, AIIB president Jin Liqun expressed interest in Hong Kong’s potential as a fundraising and management centre.