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Russian government approves draft articles of AIIB agreements

Russia signed an agreement on creating the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), becoming the third founding country for the voting share of this international financial institution

Cabinet’s meeting at the House of the Russian Government (archive) ITAR-TASS/Alexandr Astafiev

Cabinet’s meeting at the House of the Russian Government (archive)

© ITAR-TASS/Alexandr Astafiev

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MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. The Russian government has approved draft articles of the agreement on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and instructed the Finance Ministry to sign it, the Cabinet’s official website reports on Thursday.

The draft articles shall be subject to ratification after the signing, as they contain rules different from those provided for by the Russian legislation. One of the main "areas of responsibility" of the bank will be Russia’s Far East and territories bordering on China.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at a government meeting on June 25, 2015 that a wide range of the bank’s financial tools will allow Russian regional authorities and businesses to attract financing in the forms that are most preferred for a particular infrastructure facility.

On Monday, June 29, Russia signed an agreement on creating the AIIB, becoming the third founding country for the voting share of this international financial institution. Russia was represented by Deputy Finance Minister Sergey Storchak who signed the document. Russia became the owner of 65,362 shares of the bank, receiving 5.92% of the vote. China and India got a voting share of 26.06% and 7.5%, respectively.

A source in the Russian delegation told TASS representatives of 50 countries have already signed the document, while another seven founding countries will ink it after undergoing a ratification procedure. These countries are Kuwait, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Denmark, Poland and South Africa.

In an interview with TASS, Russian Deputy Economic Development Minister Stanislav Voskresensky said the bank would operate in line with the principles similar to those of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the financing of the first projects is expected in 2016. The charter capital of the future financial institution will be $100 billion. The share of the Asian countries should not exceed 75%; participants from other regions have 25% of the capital. The charter capital divides into 1 million of shares worth $100,000 each.

Headquartered in Beijing, the bank is expected to start operation in late 2015.

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