China says charter completed for AIIB

BEIJING, May 22 (Yonhap) -- Senior officials from the member-nations of the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have completed work on the bank's charter and will sign it in late June, China's foreign ministry said Friday.

Fifty-seven countries, including South Korea, became founding members of the AIIB, which is seen as a potential counterbalance to U.S.-led multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank. The U.S. and Japan did not join the AIIB.

Completion of the charter came after a three-day meeting in Singapore with senior officials this week, the ministry said in a statement.

China has said the new bank will start operations by the end of this year however the statement did not give any details on the charter.

A South Korean source involved in the negotiations said previously that the members have agreed to raise the initial capital of the new lender to US$100 billion, compared with the original target of $50 billion.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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