Sri Lanka signs Articles of Agreement of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

Beijing: Sri Lanka yesterday signed the Articles of Agreement of the China-initiated multilateral bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, at a signing ceremony held in Beijing, China.

Representatives from 57 Prospective Founding Members (PFMs) of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) gathered Monday (29 June) in Beijing at a signing ceremony of the bank’s Articles of Agreement at the Great Hall of the People and 50 PFMs signed the Articles, including Sri Lanka. Australia was the first country to sign the document.

The Articles remain open for signing by the remaining seven PFMs until the end of 2015. The 60-article agreement specified each member’s share as well as governance structure and policymaking mechanism of the bank, which is designed to finance infrastructure in Asia.

China first proposed the AIIB in 2014 with the aim of financing infrastructure. Many countries do not have the capacity to fund the infrastructure upgrades they need. So far, 57 countries have agreed to join the AIIB. Sri Lanka is a founding member of the AIIB.

The bank, which will be headquartered in Beijing, will have authorised capital of $ 100 billion, and Asian countries will contribute up to 75% of the total capital. According to the agreement, each member will be allocated a share of the quota based on their economic size.

China, India and Russia are the three largest shareholders, taking a 30.34%, 8.52% and 6.66% stake respectively. Their voting shares are calculated at 26.06%, 7.5% and 5.92%.

Japan and the US oppose the AIIB and have decided not to join at this time.