Chinese founded Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) of which the Maldives is one of 57 member countries was inaugurated Saturday. The bank was inaugurated by the President of China, Xi Jinping, at a ceremony held in Beijing. The Maldives was represented by housing minister Dr Mohamed Muizzu. China’s Minister of Finance and AIIB’s first chairman Lou Jiwei stated that AIIB, which was founded December 25 last year, will be operated jointly with World Bank Group and Asian Development Bank (ADB). The chairman reiterated that AIIB was established to provide financial assistance for major infrastructure projects within the Asian region for member countries. The Maldives was a founder member of the bank at the time President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom had ratified the parliament’s approval for the island nation to become an AIIB member. AIIB was founded with a capital of USD 100 billion with China as the biggest shareholder (30.34 percent), followed by India (15 percent) and Russia (6.5 percent) respectively. The largest non-Asian shareholder of AIIB is Germany (4.5 percent). Small member countries of AIIB wield great authority for the votes in AIIB’s decisions, while even China, which accounts for 26 percent of the votes, do not have the power to veto any rulings. The Maldives government had earlier stated that they had been assured the island nation will be among one of the first nations to receive loans from AIIB.