Jin Liqun, the first president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), has assured on Sunday, Jan. 17, that the bank will be a 21st-century multilateral lender with rigorous corporate culture, China Daily reported.
According to the chief, the bank will have a "lean staff" and will try its best effort to avoid red tape.
Jin made the remark at his debut appearance as the bank's president during a news conference, telling media that he envisions a bank that is "clean, lean and green." He added that the bank will combine the merits of existing multilateral development banks and competitive private companies.
"I'm committed to running the bank according to the highest possible standards and according to the principles outlined in the articles of agreement: transparency, openness, accountability and independence," Jin said in English.
The report said that Jin also pledged to set a "clear division of responsibility" between the bank's board and management. A special unit on compliance, effectiveness and integrity will also be established, which will exercise oversight of the management and report directly to the board.
The bank has an initial staff of 50 and it will only be increased to between 100 and 150 to fulfill the "lean" commitment and implementation, which Jin considers as crucial.
"It is important that you don't just have something brilliant on paper, it is important to implement it. . . . As president of the bank, I will ensure that the oversight mechanism is implemented without any compromise," Jin said.
According to the report, the new chief is planning to approve the first loans before the end of this year. The scale of loans will be modest, between $500 million and $1.2 billion, in the first year and will prioritize energy, power, transportation, rural infrastructure, environmental protection and logistics.
Jin added that the AIIB has been working closely with the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to identify possible co-financing projects.
"We already have a very good project pipeline, including co-financing projects and standalone projects vetted by our own professionals. We are also open to other partners in the private sector," the chief said.
Jin, however, said that setting the stage by building a corporate culture and making employees accountable are "far more important" things to do by the first president than "preparing the pipelines and making the loans." He said the bank is also drafting the core policies on environmental and social framework.
Jin Liqun graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University as an English-language major. He joined the Ministry of Finance and was sent to the World Bank Group in the 1980s as an alternate executive director for China. In 1998, he was appointed vice minister of finance and was named as vice president of the Asian Development Bank in 2003.
In 2008, Jin became chairman of the board of supervisors at China Investment Corp., where he worked closely with Lou Jiwei, the current finance minister. He became chairman of China International Capital Corp. in 2013.
The new chief is fluent in English and French and described by his peers as "experienced, savvy and pragmatic." He also loves Chinese classic literature.