Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Special Fund
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Special Fund is a pre-project preparation facility to help potential borrowers to prepare high-quality projects for financing.
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The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a Multilateral Development Bank set up in 2016, based in Beijing and focused on stimulating economic growth through financing infrastructure in Asia.
The AIIB established a project preparation facility to help potential borrowers to prepare high-quality projects for financing. Project preparation facilities are particularly needed for developing country borrowers, especially the lowest income countries, which often lack the necessary administrative capacity and expertise to prepare high-quality projects, and in the infrastructure sector, where projects are typically large and complex. To bridge this gap, the AIIB set up the Special Fund, which will be used to provide internationally-procured technical assistance and consultancy to Asian developing countries to help them to prepare high-quality infrastructure projects for financing.
The UK’s contribution to the AIIB Special Fund is through the UK Prosperity Fund. The Chancellor announced a UK contribution of $50m to the AIIB Special Fund at the 2016 UK-China Economic & Financial Dialogue, and signed a contribution agreement formalising our participation in the Special Fund at the 2017 EFD. The UK is currently one of four bilateral contributors, along with China, Republic of Korea and Hong Kong.
Apart from the primary benefits in stimulating the infrastructure project pipeline in developing countries, the Special Fund will also offer secondary benefits to UK firms through contracting for technical assistance and procurement of services and works for final project proposals. Wider exporting opportunities and new markets for UK firms will also be generated through economic growth unlocked by infrastructure development.