PH firming up link with China-led Asia lender

THE PHILIPPINES is expected to firm up its membership in the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) before the institution is formally established.

National Treasurer Roberto B. Tan, who attended last week’s meeting on AIIB in Beijing, declined to provide details on the talks that transpired among the 57 countries, likely to become the lender’s founders.

He only said in a text message last Saturday that they were “still in negotiations.”

Tan, who is also Finance undersecretary, hinted that the Philippines would again participate in a final negotiation on AIIB’s articles of agreement later this month in Singapore.

According to the Department of Finance (DOF), the Philippine government believes that the AIIB may contribute much to the social and economic development of the region.

In October last year, the Philippines, through the DOF, signed a nonbinding agreement to join discussions aimed at threshing out issues ahead of the bank’s formal establishment.

“As a prospective founding member, the DOF [on behalf of the Philippine government] is currently participating in the discussions on the articles of agreement of the AIIB. We are very hopeful that these discussions will result in an inclusive AIIB governance structure, and that the AIIB will complement existing multilateral banks which we are a part of,” it said in a statement.

Tan earlier said that AIIB’s governance structure should be “responsive to the needs of the poorer members.”

Specifically, the Philippines would take a closer look at the role of AIIB’s board of directors, as well as how project priorities and conditions would be protected while ensuring the integrity of the procurement environment, Tan had said.

According to reports from Beijing, the fourth round of talks held last week was the first time that all 57 prospective members of AIIB got to fully discuss and review the proposed lender’s draft charter.

A news report quoted a top Chinese finance official as saying that AIIB’s charter could be signed in June, after which founding members would have to secure the approval of their respective governments.

Upon the charter’s approval, AIIB will then be formally established, hopefully “before the end of 2015,” so that the bank can start operating by yearend, CCTV.com quoted Chinese deputy finance minister Shi Yaobin as saying.

Also, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said its president, Takehiko Nakao, met with Liqun Jin, secretary general of the multilateral interim secretariat of AIIB, on the sidelines of the multilateral lender’s 48th annual meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan last May 1.

“Nakao and his staff, and Jin and his team discussed for an hour future collaboration including co-financing, and confirmed their commitment to working together for Asia,” the ADB said in a statement.

“They acknowledged the large infrastructure gap in the region, the critical role of infrastructure in supporting sustainable development and poverty reduction, and the importance of safeguard policies on environmental and social impacts of projects,” according to the ADB.

The lender quoted Nakao as saying that ADB would “cooperate and co-finance with AIIB” infrastructure financing across Asia “by using our long experience and expertise in the region.”