Official: India becomes AIIB’s largest borrower
NEW DELHI — India is the biggest borrower from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, getting its projects financed to the extent of $4.4 billion in the past three years, said Subhash Chandra Garg, secretary at the Department of Economic Affairs, in an official statement.
The AIIB’s third annual meeting began in the Indian city of in Mumbai on Monday. The two-day annual meeting of the bank is focusing on infrastructure with the theme of “Mobilizing Finance for Infrastructure: Innovation and Collaboration”.
The annual meeting will see participation from 86 members. They will deliberate on strategies to mobilize financing for infrastructure in the region.
AIIB Vice-President and Corporate Secretary Danny Alexander said that the bank is apolitical and all projects have to pass its sustainability and environment tests.
“Lean, clean and green is the way we work. We invest in sustainability and are guided by those priorities,” he added.
Alexander said the AIIB will consider investing in projects outside Asia.
“So far, AIIB has only invested in one solar power project in Egypt,” he said.
Headquartered in Beijing, the AIIB commenced operations in January 2016.
The bank’s mission is to improve economic and social development in Asia by investing in high quality, financially viable and environmentally friendly infrastructure projects.
While 75 percent of the bank’s capital is from Asia, members have joined from Europe, North America, East Africa and Latin America.
Philippine Finance Minister Carlos Dominguez is also in Mumbai for the annual meeting.
Dominguez, as AIIB governor for the Philippines, was scheduled to attend the governors’ seminars and deliver the Philippines’ statement during the governors’ business roundtable scheduled on Monday afternoon.
After the governors’ plenary session on Tuesday, Dominguez was scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at the Asian Infrastructure Forum workshop on “Advancing Together: ASEAN Infrastructure Development”.
As of April 11, the AIIB Board of Directors had approved 26 infrastructure projects across Asia to be financed by the bank totaling $4.52 billion.
In the Philippines, the Metro Manila Flood Management Project Phase 1, as the first project cofinanced by the AIIB with the World Bank, was signed in December and declared effective on March 15.