The New Development Bank (NDB) today announced that the Headquarters Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the NDB will be signed on the 27th of February 2016. Along with this, the Bank will also sign the Memorandum of Understanding with Shanghai Municipal Government, paving the way for commencement of full-scale operations of the NDB.
Remarks by the Chairman of the Board of Governors
At the press conference Mr. Anton Siluanov, the Finance Minister of the Russian Federation and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the NDB, thanked the Governments of China and Shanghai for their support. “In a short time period, the management of the NDB has successfully created the platform necessary for deployment of the Bank’s operations,” he added.
Mr. Siluanov also expressed confidence that the NDB “will soon become a strong and well-respected international financial institution, playing a leading role in the changing international financial architecture.”
Remarks by the President
Mr. K.V. Kamath, the President of the Bank, said: “The New Development Bank is instituted with a vision to support and foster infrastructure and sustainable development initiatives in emerging economies and developing countries. We aim to be a progressive and accessible institution focused on resolving key development challenges through innovative but realistic approaches while working in close cooperation with partner governments, industry and fellow multilateral development banks (MDBs).”
“With infrastructure development itself needing investment of more than USD 1 trillion a year, it is not only necessary for MDBs to work together but also to reinvent themselves and introduce innovative instruments which can harness and develop local capital markets to complement the existing global liquidity pools”, he added.
Progress achieved
The NDB is broadly on track to achieve the objectives set after the start of its operation in July 2015. Most of the policies and procedures for all functional areas of the Bank were approved at the Board of Directors meeting in January 2016. The NDB received project proposals from all BRICS countries, and the appraisal of the first set of projects is scheduled for April 2016. The founding members of the NDB have already brought in capital of $1 bln as initial contribution.
Financial rating
The Bank shared that it has received AAA institutional rating from domestic credit rating agencies and has appointed Bank of China and China Development Bank as rating advisors. The Bank has also appointed Standard Chartered and Goldman Sachs as advisors for international ratings. The Bank will engage with international rating agencies in the coming weeks to secure the highest possible financial rating.
Recruitment plans
The NDB also shared that it will soon start recruiting talent from its member countries. The Bank is expected to employ about 100 staff by the end of 2016 and onboarding will begin by June 2016. All vacancies at the NDB will be made public via the Careers section of the Bank’s website (https://www.ndb.int/).
The brand identity of the NDB
At the press conference, the brand identity of the NDB was displayed to the public. It is inspired by the concept of Mobius strip and embodies the ethos of the Bank – transparency, agility and innovation. An organic and stable wireframe holds together its two fundamentals – the triangle of sustainable equilibrium and the propeller of change. The wireframe symbolizes infrastructure while green represents sustainability.
African Regional Center
The Bank also stated that it will launch its African Regional Center by the second half of 2016. The first regional office will be set up in Johannesburg, South Africa and will be the face of NDB for the continent. The Centre will enable the NDB to develop understanding of opportunities and build a project pipeline.
Background Information
The first Board of Governors meeting of the Bank was held in Moscow, Russia on July 7, 2015 where the Bank formally came into existence as a legal entity. Mr. K.V. Kamath was elected the first President of the Bank and the Vice Presidents were appointed by the Governors.
On July 21, 2015 the NDB opened its Technical Secretariat in Shanghai, China.
The second meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bank was held in Shanghai on November 23-24, 2015. At the meeting, the organizational structure of the NDB, HR policies and the division of responsibilities between Vice Presidents was finalized.
According to the Agreement on the New Development Bank, the initial subscribed capital of the NDB is fixed at the level of $50 bln. The total paid-in capital of the Bank will be $10 bln.
Additional Information
For more information, please visit the official website of the NDB at www.ndb.int or contact Alexey Kosarev at +86-185-2105-0330, +86-21-8021-1848 or kosarev.alexey@ndb.int.