India, Russia, China ready to launch rival to World Bank

[Vikrant]

Competition among service providers is always good for consumers. I am glad an alternative to IMF and World Bank is being emerged.

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The long-awaited BRICS development bank is expected to finally be launched next week, Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov confirmed today.

The joint project will see the emerging economic powers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa establish an alternative to the World Bank, in an attempt to ensure economic stability should the U.S. dollar continue to fluctuate.

The ‘New Development Bank’ project will see each of the founding countries contribute $2 billion to the bank’s funds over the next 7 years, with the bank’s maximum capital set at $100 billion.

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http://www.newsweek.com/russia-china-india-ready-launch-rival-world-bank-258058

 

[Vikrant]

This is truly a landmark development. It was finalized in Brazil that BRICS Bank will be headquartered in China. The presidency will be held by India.

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(Reuters) - The new development bank of the group of BRICS countries will be headquartered in Shanghai, China, with the presidency initially held by India, Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff said on Tuesday.

The deal was reached after intense last-minute negotiations to settle a dispute between India and China over the headquarters of the new bank, which will have initial capital of $100 billion to invest in infrastructure projects.

Leaders of the BRICS group - which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - are holding a summit in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza.

New BRICS bank to be based in China, India to have presidency | Reuters

 

[Mr. H.]

I heard this on NPR just this evening.

 

[Mr. H.]

As was pointed out in another thread (not by myself), the effects of the volumetric increases in U.S. liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon production has brought about a game change in both worldwide financial and political pictures.

 

[Vikrant]

On a slightly different note: China invites India to APEC.

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NEW DELHI — Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday invited India to attend a summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade group in November, sending a message of cooperation during the first meeting between the new leaders of the world’s most populous countries.

Mr Xi also called yesterday for speedy negotiations to settle disputes over the contested Himalayan border, which led to the war between the two countries in 1962 and has flared in recent years over allegations of cross-border incursions.



But behind the smiles at Mr Xi’s 80-minute meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Brazil, India’s rivalry with its powerful neighbour bubbled up as the two nations argued over who would host the headquarters of a proposed BRICS — a group comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — joint development bank.

The meeting between Mr Xi and Mr Modi — the first between the two leaders — took place soon after their arrival at the BRICS group summit of emerging powers yesterday.

Mr Xi, who is due to visit India in September, said the two countries should join hands in setting global rules and suggested he attend the November meeting of the 21-nation APEC in Beijing, as well as take part in Chinese-led regional initiatives.

India has never attended an APEC summit and has long sought to become a member to help boost its economy.

The bonhomie was partially overshadowed by news that the BRICS groups had not yet decided where to locate the headquarters of the development bank they were expected to launch yesterday. China and India are both frontrunners to host the bank.

“It will be every country’s desire, and so will it be India’s, to have it in India, because Delhi or any city in India has its natural advantages, English-speaking, very skilled manpower, and if you look at the geographical position of all the BRICS countries, the five of them, India is very centrally located,” Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s trade minister and part of Mr Modi’s entourage in Brazil, told television network Times Now.

Leaders of the five countries were expected to a sign a deal yesterday to establish a US$100 billion (S$124 billion) bank and a reserves fund of the same size to challenge Western dominance over development lending.

China and India also yesterday pledged to resolve the border dispute that has hampered economic ties between the two nations.

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China invites India to attend APEC summit | TODAYonline