Beijing: Former Chinese finance minister Jin Liqun has been unanimously endorsed as the official candidate for the AIIB president by the founding member nations, including India, taking another step forward in their bid to create a rival to the World Bank and IMF.
The chief negotiators from 54 of the 57 founding members of the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank agreed to choose 66-year-old Jin for the post in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia during the 6th Chief Negotiators' Meeting.
Representatives from Sri Lanka, Switzerland and Amman were absent.
India is one of the founding members of the AIIB.
According to the AIIB's charter, Jin needs to be re-confirmed by the Board of Governors at its inaugural meeting after the formal establishment of the AIIB.
Jin, nominated by China for the post of AIIB president in early July, has an outstanding leadership record in the public and private sectors, and multilateral development institutions.
He once served as China's vice finance minister, vice president of the Asian Development Bank, chairman of the Supervisory Board of China Investment Corp, and board chairman of China International Capital Corp, Ltd.
The AIIB will have an authorised capital of USD 100 billion and the initial subscribed capital is expected to be around USD 50 billion.
The positions of various countries were decided based on the calculations of GDP and the purchasing power parity (PPP).
Japan along with United States have stayed away from joining the AIIB expressing reservations over its openness.
Though Beijing officially played down the AIIB, it could rival World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the ADB in scaling up funding for the infrastructure projects in Asia.
PTI
First Published: Monday, August 24, 2015, 23:02