Against all odds in a slack global economy, the New Development Bank (NDB) set up by the BRICS nations has proved progressive for the past year since its establishment.
While addressing the annual meeting of the bank's board of directors held in Shanghai Wednesday, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said the Chinese government will continue to back and facilitate the bank's future development.
EFFICIENCY & PRUDENCE
The NDB was first proposed at the BRICS summit in New Delhi, capital of India, in 2012. In just one year after its official opening, the NDB has made remarkable progress, and has issued its first bonds worldwide to raise funds for clean energy projects in member states.
NDB President K.V. Kamath said the past year has seen achievements in at least three areas, including selecting its first loan projects, the timely payment of equity capital by stakeholders, and the first yuan-denominated bonds in seven years issued by a global financial institution.
Wang Lei, a researcher on BRICS cooperation with Beijing Normal University, said the bank is both efficient and prudent.
Noting that the bank, proposed and led solely by the emerging economies, has done well in building up its internal organizations and begun to operate in just one short year, he said its performance is indeed very efficient.
He also said that, instead of offering services to the whole financial market, the decision to fund green projects has shown that the bank's managers are also quite prudent and pragmatic.
SEEK EXPANSION THROUGH PRAGMATIC COOPERATION
The NDB now has about 70 staff, the number of which is expected to grow up to around 100 by the end of 2016, when the bank's first regional office in Johannesburg, South Africa will also be opened, Kamath said.
As far as Wang is concerned, although the high-level management is now in place and has been operating effectively, the NDB remains understaffed, which is not conducive to expanding its business.
In the next phase, Wang suggested the multilateral development bank should prioritize improving its internal structure while strengthening its team building.
