【英语财经】亚投行贷款将以美元计价 China’s new Asia development bank will lend in US dollars

The China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment bank has ruled out lending in currencies other than the dollar, its new president said on Sunday, signalling that Beijing will not use the development bank as a platform to promote renminbi internationalisation.

The AIIB formally opened for business on Saturday, just 27 months after President Xi Jinping proposed the institution as both rival and partner to existing institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

“The demand for infrastructure development in Asia is enormous,” Mr Xi said in a speech.

“The founding and opening of the AIIB also means a great deal to the reform of the global economic governance system. It is consistent with the evolving trend of the global economic landscape and will help make the global economic governance system more just, equitable and effective.”

Analysts say renminbi lending by AIIB would have presented challenges since most member countries likely contributed equity in dollars, and borrowers would have little use for renminbi unless they relied on Chinese suppliers.

Even for China, the bank’s creation is partly an effort to find more profitable investment channels for its foreign-exchange reserves, which are now mainly invested in low-yielding US treasuries.

China has long complained that existing multilateral institutions are dominated by western powers. Last month the US Congress approved long-stalled reforms that will increase China’s voting share in the International Monetary Fund. In November, the IMF also endorsed the renminbi as a global reserve currency alongside the dollar, euro, yen and pound sterling.

The Beijing-based AIIB has $100bn in equity and 57 founding members. Legislatures from 30 of these have already ratified the bank’s charter, while approval is still pending from the remainder. China’s 26 per cent voting share will force China to build consensus with other members but also preserves Beijing’s veto power, as the bank’s charter requires a 75 per cent supermajority for important decisions.

Mr Xi said the AIIB would work together with existing multilateral institutions and draw on their knowledge and experience.

The bank’s council of supervisors elected Chinese finance minister Lou Jiwei as council chairman, and its board of governors chose Jin Liqun, former chairman of China International Capital Corp, the first Sino-foreign joint-venture investment bank, as AIIB’s first president for a five-year term.

“We have a good pipeline of co-finance and standalone projects,” said Mr Jin on Sunday at the first board of governor’s meeting. “Infrastructure is key for broad-based social development and poverty reduction.”

At its establishment ceremony in late December, Mr Lou said the bank expected to grant its first loan by midyear. On Sunday, Mr Jin said the first loan approvals are expected “by the end of the year”.

The creation of AIIB is one of Mr Xi’s signature foreign policy accomplishments. The US opposed the bank and urged western allies not to join, but after the UK broke ranks and announced its intention to join, other countries quickly followed.

“AIIB is a financial organisation established at the initiative of Asian countries, and that Korea has participated in the establishment of this initiative is itself quite meaningful,” South Korean finance minister Yoo Il-ho told the Financial Times on Sunday, adding that the bank will “bring vitality to the large-scale Asian infrastructure market”.

Beijing has also spearheaded the creation of the New Development Bank, which also has $100bn in capital, alongside fellow Brics countries Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.

World Bank and ADB officials have said they welcome the new institutions, but critics worry that AIIB will not adhere to strict human rights, labour, environmental and corporate governance standards.

中国主导的亚洲基础设施投资银行（Asia Infrastructure Investment bank，中文简称“亚投行”）已排除用美元以外的货币放贷，这是该行新行长周日表示的，这个信号表明北京方面不会把这家开发银行当作一个推动人民币国际化的平台。

亚投行在上周六正式开业，距离习近平提议设立该机构——作为世界银行(World Bank)和亚洲开发银行（Asian Development Bank，中文简称“亚开行”）等现有机构的竞争对手和合作伙伴——只有短短27个月。

“亚洲基础设施融资需求巨大，”习近平在亚投行开业仪式上致辞时表示。

“亚投行正式成立并开业，对全球经济治理体系改革完善具有重大意义，顺应了世界经济格局调整演变的趋势，有助于推动全球经济治理体系朝着更加公正合理有效的方向发展。”

分析人士表示，亚投行如果用人民币放贷将带来挑战，因为多数成员国很可能用美元认缴股本，而借款人拿了人民币没什么用——除非他们依靠中国供应商。

即使是对中国而言，创建该行在一定程度上也是为了寻找更有利可图的投资外汇储备的渠道，目前中国的外汇储备主要投资于低收益的美国国债。

中国长期抱怨称，现有的多边机构由西方国家主导。上月，美国国会批准了搁置已久的国际货币基金组织(IMF)改革方案，这将提高中国在该组织的投票权份额。去年11月，IMF还认可人民币为全球储备货币之一，使其加入美元、欧元、日元和英镑的行列。

总部位于北京的亚投行有1000亿美元股本和57个创始成员国，其中30个国家的立法机构已经批准了该行的章程，其余国家仍有待批准。中国26%的投票权份额将迫使中国与其他成员国凝聚共识，但也保留了北京方面的否决权，因为该行的章程要求重要决定获得75%的绝对多数支持。

习近平表示，亚投行将与现有多边机构展开合作，借鉴它们的知识和经验。

该行理事会推选中国财政部长楼继伟为理事会主席，并任命金立群为该行首届行长，任期五年；金立群曾担任首家中外合资投资银行——中国国际金融有限公司(CICC)——的董事长。

“我们有不错的联合融资和独立项目管道，”金立群周日在理事会首次会议上表示。“基础设施对于广泛的社会发展和减少贫困是关键。”

在12月下旬举行的亚投行成立仪式上，楼继伟曾表示，预计该行将在今年年中发放第一笔贷款。周日，金立群表示，首批贷款预计将“在今年底以前”获批。

亚投行的创建是习近平的标志性外交政策成就之一。美国曾反对该行，并敦促西方盟国不要加入，但在英国不顾美国的反对宣布打算加入后，其他国家很快跟随。

“亚投行是在亚洲国家的倡议之下成立的一个金融组织，韩国参与这一倡议的建立本身就是相当有意义的，”韩国财政部长柳一镐(Yoo Il-ho)周日对英国《金融时报》表示。他还称，该行将“给庞大的亚洲基础设施市场带来活力”。

北京还带头建立了新开发银行(New Development Bank)，该行也拥有1000亿美元初始资本，合作伙伴是同为金砖国家(Brics)的巴西、俄罗斯、印度和南非。

世行和亚开行官员们表示，他们欢迎这两家新机构，但批评人士担心，亚投行不会坚守严格的人权、劳工、环境和公司治理标准。

译者/和风