BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) — The fifth annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was held online from Tuesday to Wednesday amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The AIIB is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia. Headquartered in Beijing, it began operations in 2016 and has now grown to 103 approved members worldwide.
Below is a chronology of key events since its launch.
Jan. 16, 2016 — The inaugurating ceremony of the AIIB is held in Beijing.
June 2016 — The bank approves its first four loans, totaling 509 million U.S. dollars, to fund power, housing, and transportation projects in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Tajikistan.
March 2017 — The AIIB board of governors approves 13 applications to join the bank, including Hong Kong of China and Canada. This is the first time the bank has welcomed new prospective members since its inception, bringing the bank’s total membership to 70.
December 2017 — The AIIB announces it has approved its first loan in China for a natural gas project in Beijing, which is scheduled for completion in 2021. The investment in the project marks AIIB’s first corporate loan.
May 2019 — The AIIB issues 2.5 billion U.S. dollars of five-year bonds in London, the bank’s first dollar-denominated global bond.
July 2019 — The AIIB expands its membership to 100 with the approval of the African newcomers of Benin, Djibouti, and Rwanda.
April 2020 — The AIIB announces the launch of its COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility with an initial 5 billion U.S. dollars in financing. The AIIB then decides to double the available funds under the facility to 10 billion dollars.
June 2020 — The AIIB launches 3 billion yuan (about 428.57 million U.S. dollars) of panda bonds in China’s interbank bond market, the first time the multilateral organization enters the market. The AIIB is the first Triple-A internationally rated issuer to have entered this market since the release in 2018 of the new panda bond guidelines governing international issuers.
July 29, 2020 — From the 57 founding members to today’s membership of 103, spanning the six continents of Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Oceania, the AIIB has provided nearly 20 billion U.S. dollars in infrastructure investment to its members.