AIIB plans to double lending over five years

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank plans to double its lending over the next five years and expand support for green and digital infrastructure, a senior bank official said.

Sherard Cowper-Coles, AIIB vice president and corporate secretary, said 70% of the bank’s lending last year was green, adding that the institution now has 111 members and a queue of countries from Africa and Latin America seeking to join.

He said development banks needed to use blended finance, mobilise private capital and expand digital finance as official development assistance declines in some countries.

Cowper-Coles said infrastructure should not be seen only as roads, ports and bridges, but also as digital, health and education infrastructure that supports modern economies.

He said AIIB was ready to work with the Islamic Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and would increase technical assistance across the project cycle, from preparation to implementation.

Aytaj Zeynalova