India is likely to bag the post of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in the newly launched Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) — the multilateral bank, whose formation was steered by China in order to boost infrastructure development in Asia.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) is reporting that the vice-presidents working alongside China’s Jin Liqun — the newly appointed President of the AIIB — will be from Germany, India, South Korea, Britain and Indonesia. The Vice-President from Germany would serve as the Chief Operating Officer, while his peer from India would become the bank’s first CFO.
The Chief Administrative Officer would be from Indonesia, while the South Korean Vice-President would be handle risk affairs. The British Vice-President is expected to head the communications department.
Analysts say that the Chinese have made a decision to run the bank according to international best practices, which include tapping into the experience of European bankers.
The AIIB along with the upcoming New Development Bank (NDB) of the Brazil-Russian-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are likely to anchor funding for the Eurasian Land Corridor or the China-proposed Belt and Road connectivity initiative, along with opening up a new channel of financial flows for the Global South. The three institutions have been established outside the framework of the Bretton Woods Charter, which led to the post-war emergence of the western-back International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The run up to the formation of the bank opened cracks within the Atlantic Alliance. Despite U.S. objections, European countries including Britain, France and Germany joined the AIIB. Australia and South Korea — top U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific — also decided to participate in the development bank as its founding members.
The Financial Times had earlier reported that the likely German candidate, Joachim von Amsberg, has spent his career at the World Bank, joining as an economist and later acquiring extensive experience in Asia, including managing the World Bank’s response to the destruction of Aceh in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
But the daily had also pointed out that Beijing was unhappy with London’s decision to send Danny Alexander, a former Liberal Democrat Minister to the AIIB.
