AIIB Approves $150 million for India Infrastructure Fund

China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved $150 million equity investment loan to the India Infrastructure Fund. This loan will be the bank’s first equity investment to fund private projects.

Salient Highlights

The $150 million investment would go the India Infrastructure Fund. The Infrastructure Fund aims to invest in mid-cap infrastructure companies in India.
AIIB in total has approved two loans and one equity investment totalling $324 million to support infrastructure projects in India, Georgia and Tajikistan. In the case of Georgia and Tajikistan, the loans were approved to support transport and power projects.
The initiative is expected to benefit local infrastructure development as it will enhance private capital inflows from global long-term investors, such as public pension funds, endowments and insurance companies.

AIIB

AIIB is a multilateral development bank backed by China and is seen as a rival to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB). The bank started to function in January 2016. The bank was established to fund various infrastructure projects including energy, transportation, urban construction and logistics as well as education and healthcare in Asia-Pacific region.
The AIIB was officially established with 57 founding members. But as of May 2017, the bank has 52 members. It has an authorised capital of USD 100 billion. The bank is headquartered in Beijing.
Voting Share: China is the largest shareholder with 26.06% voting shares. India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5% voting shares followed by Russia 5.93% and Germany with 4.5%.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2017