China-led AIIB sets up unit to oversee ‘integrity’
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank president promises division of power and responsibility
The US$100-billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will have a special compliance-and-integrity unit that will exercise oversight over the management and report directly to the board, according to Jin Liqun, the lender’s president.
“There’ll be division of power and responsibility between the board and management,” Jin told a press conference on Sunday. “It’s important to implement.”
The lender planned to raise capital in currencies including US dollars, euros and the yuan, while making loans in American dollars, said Jin, adding that the Korean government would also give financial support to the fund.
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The AIIB was creating a pipeline of projects and would work with institutions such as the Washington-based World Bank and Japan-led Asian Development Bank on co-financing projects, he said. The AIIB would also have standalone projects, Jin said.
The bank officially opened at a ceremony on Saturday in Beijing, formalising the emergence of a competitor to the World Bank and strengthening China’s influence over global finance.
Jin said that Asia still faced “severe connectivity gaps and significant infrastructure bottlenecks”.