DUSHANBE, July 21, 2015, Asia-Plus – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao has congratulated founding members of the New Development Bank (NDB) and its president on start of operations of the NDB.

“On the occasion of the New Development Bank (NDB) opening its doors for business today, we congratulate its founding members as well as President K.V. Kamath, its management, and staff,” a statement released by ADB President Takehiko Nakao on July 21 says.

“We look forward to working with this new member of the global family of multilateral development banks in areas of common interest in Asia and Pacific, including possible cofinancing for infrastructure and projects promoting sustainable development, utilizing our long experience and expertise in the region.”

The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as an alternative to the existing US-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund.  The bank is set up to foster greater financial and development cooperation among the five emerging markets.

In the New Development bank, which is headquartered in Shanghai, China, each participant country will be assigned one vote, and none of the countries will have veto power.  The bank''s primary focus of lending will be infrastructure projects with authorized lending of up to $34 billion annually.

The bank will have starting capital of $50 billion, with capital increased to $100 billion over time.  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will initially contribute $10 billion each to bring the total to $50 billion.  Each member cannot increase its share of capital without all other 4 members agreeing.  This was a primary requirement of India.  The bank will allow new members to join but the BRICS capital share cannot fall below 55%.