Peru will submit its application to join the China-led US$100-billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), aimed to finance projects in sectors such as transport, energy and telecom in the Asia region.

In early September we informed that the government of Canada will partner the China-led multilateral bank to help the country to further engage in multilateral infrastructure efforts as well as enabling Canadian companies to access new business opportunities.

The deadline for candidate countries to formalize their applications to join the AIIB is on September 30. 

In early January we informed that the AIIB opened its doors in Beijing. China has a 30 per cent stake in the AIIB, which is led by Jin Liqin, China’s former vice finance minister. He said the bank will be “lean, clean and green”, and will not have the bureaucratic structure of other multilateral organizations, allowing it to kick-start projects faster.

According to sources, American officials have expressed concerns about the new bank providing loans to countries without requiring labour rights or anti-corruption reforms as well as environmental attention, as are taken into account in loans from  the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The AIIB is lending to projects involving energy and power, transport and telecoms, rural infrastructure, water supply, environmental protection and logistics. The bank has already invested more than US$500 million in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Tajikistan, and Chinese officials said it plans to loan out US$10-15 billion over the next five years.