THE TALE OF A BANK.docVIP

THE TALE OF A BANK 　　From an idea on paper to a fully fledged body， the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank （AIIB） was finally unveiled after two years of preparation. 　　On January 16， representatives from 57 countries as founding members of the AIIB gathered in Beijing for the bank’s inauguration. 　　“Now is a moment that will be recorded in history，” Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the inauguration ceremony. “The found- ing and opening of the AIIB will effectively boost investment to support infrastructure development in Asia.” 　　 From 21 to 57 　　The idea of the bank was first raised by Xi during a visit to Indonesia in October 2013. 　　One year later， on October 24， 2014， representatives of 21 Asian countries that were willing to join the AIIB as founding members signed a memorandum of understanding（MoU） on establishing the AIIB in Beijing. The MoU specified that the authorized capital of the AIIB is $100 billion， and that the initial subscribed capital is expected to be around$50 billion. In March 2015， the United Kingdom declared its interest in becoming a founding member of the AIIB as the first Western country applying， which was shortly followed by 17 other European countries including France， Germany and Italy. 　　In April 2015， 57 countries were confirmed to have joined or applied to join the AIIB as prospective founding members. These 57 countries are from Asia， Europe， Africa， Oceania and South America， including four countries from the G7 and 14 from the G20. 　　Chinese Premier Li Keqiang elaborated on his vision for the new multilateral development bank at the inaugural meeting of the AIIB Board of Governors. “It is important for the AIIB to follow the trend of economic globalization and regional integration and meet the needs of developing members for industrialization and urbanization，” he noted. 　　“The popularity of the AIIB stems from its win-win nature as the bank serves to enhance connectivity among Asian countries by supporting infrast