China Formally Establishes Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

The Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will become fully operational after its board of directors and executive council meet at an opening ceremony scheduled for January 16-18.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was formally established on Friday, and is expected to be operational by early next year, local media reported Friday.

"The AIIB is legally established as the Articles of Agreement take effect today," Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei was quoted by the Xinhua news agency as saying.

The bank will become fully operational after its board of directors and executive council meet at an opening ceremony scheduled for January 16-18, the minister said.

The AIIB is a China-proposed international financial institution created to invest in infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region. In October 2014, the Articles of Agreement establishing the bank were signed by 21 states.

By mid-year, the agreement had been signed by 50 founding members in the financial organization, including Russia. So far, 17 members have ratified the agreement.

Russia signed the agreement on June 29, becoming the third-largest holder of AIIB shares. Earlier this month, the lower house of the Russian parliament ratified the AIIB Articles of Agreement, and later Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ratifying it.