Myanmar anticipates good prospects after opening of AIIB

YANGON - Myanmar is anticipating good prospects after the opening of China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a finance official said here Thursday.

"Our expectation and view on the opening of the AIIB are good and clear, that was why we participated as a founding member. The AIIB is assumed as a dependable bank which supports regional development," Deputy Minister of Finance Dr Maung Maung Thein said in an interview with Xinhua, adding that Myanmar Minister of Finance U Win Shein will personally attend the opening activities.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang will attend activities marking the opening of the bank on Saturday, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Xi will address the inaugurating ceremony in the morning while Premier Li will address the founding conference of the AIIB council in the afternoon.

The series of opening activities will last until next Monday.

The AIIB was formerly established in Beijing on Dec 25, 2015. Headquartered in Beijing, it now has 57 members.

Myanmar's parliament has approved $264.5 million in the AIIB, of which 20 percent or $52.9 million would be contributed at the initial stage every year for 10 years.

The memorandum of understanding of the AIIB has specified that the authorized capital of AIIB is $100 billion with an initial subscribed capital of $50 billion.

AIIB is an international financial institution proposed by the government of China in 2013 and was launched in Beijing in October 2014. The purpose of the multilateral development bank is to provide finance to infrastructure projects in the Asia region.