AIIB plans to issue first USD bonds this year

China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in which India is a second largest shareholder, plans to issue its first US dollar-denominated bond with minimum worth of a USD billion by June this year.
With 84 members so far, the AIIB was officially established in December 2015 and opened for business in January 2016.
The Beijing-based AIIB is a multilateral development bank initiated by China. The bank has an authorised capital of USD 100 billion.
Soren Elbech, treasurer of the Beijing-based multilateral development bank, said in a statement that the earliest issuance window will be "toward the end of the first half of 2018," with time required for certain procedures, including the Board of Governors' approval of AIIB's 2017 financial statements as well as borrowing and swap documentation.

Elbech said the minimum size of the issuance will be one billion dollars, but as demand for the first bond issue from a triple-A multilateral institution in 25 years may be large. "We anticipate having to issue a larger size."
In terms of maturity of the bond, Elbech said the choice will be between three and five years depending on investor demand at the time, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

He said the bank plans to cap its total borrowing volume at USD three billion dollars in 2018.
The AIIB has received three top-notch ratings from the global credit rating agencies S&P Global Ratings, Moody's and Fitch in recognition of the bank's strong capital base and stable outlook.

China is the largest shareholder with 26.06 per cent voting shares in the bank. India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5 per cent followed by Russia 5.93 per cent and Germany with 4.5 per cent
It prioritises investment in energy, power generation, transport, rural infrastructure, environmental protection and logistics in Asia.