The opening – announced in a short report – comes two weeks after a BRICS summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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The NDB – or BRICS bank, as it is known, after its sponsors Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – will help in the recovery and development of emerging economies, China’s Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said at the opening ceremony.
“Its creation is to meet the urgent demand of such countries in infrastructure construction and beyond”, he said, adding it will complement the existing global banking system, instead of challenging it. The first loan is expected to be issued next year.
Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa (Brics) – some of the world’s fastest growing economies – launched the bank to support developing nations with infrastructure projects.
The United States and Japan – the world’s largest and third-largest economies, respectively – have declined to join the AIIB.
“We are committed to working closely with the New Development Bank and other multilateral institutions, offering to share our knowledge and to co-finance infrastructure projects”, World Bank president Jim Yong Kim said in a statement.
The BRICS nations represent 40 percent of the world’s population and previously agreed to establish the bank, with estimated capital of $100 billion (90 billion euros).
The first project for the NDB was proposed in 2012 but disagreements among member nations over the bank’s funding, management and headquarters delayed the launch.
The bank is to start out with a capital of $50bn (£32bn) though the amount is to be doubled in the coming years.
NDB’s $100bn pool, called the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), is created to assist member countries at times of currency liquidity crises.
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NDB is operated by the BRICS states and has been established to foster financial and development cooperation among the five emerging markets.
