1st Ld-Writethru-China Focus: AIIB president committed to "highest possible standard"

The first president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) vowed on Sunday that he will adhere to the "highest possible standard" in running the new multilateral financial institution.

Jin Liqun made the remarks in a speech at a press conference after the conclusion of the two-day inaugural meeting of the AIIB's board of governors on Sunday, which approved by-laws, rules and codes of conduct for the bank.

"I am most grateful to our shareholders for the trust and confidence, and I am deeply committed to running the institution according to the highest possible standard, and according to the principles outlined in the bank's article agreement: transparency, openness, accountability and independence," Jin told reporters in Beijing.

Thirty of the 57 prospective founding members, representing over 74 percent of the shares, have ratified the article agreement, thus becoming full members of the AIIB, and the remaining ones will have completed their membership processes by the end of this year, he said.

At their meeting, the governors also elected the bank's board of directors, which convened its inaugural meeting on Sunday afternoon and discussed a number of the bank's core policies, Jin said.

The AIIB plans to bring the first loans for approval before the end of this year, he added.

Answering a question about the bank's oversight mechanism, the president described the AIIB's core values as "lean, clean and green," and stressed the importance of putting in place "a good system and corporate culture."

There will be "division of power and responsibility between the board and management," with the board exercising oversight of the management in addition to the designing and approval of major policies, he said.

There will be a unit responsible for "compliance, effectiveness and integrity," which will report directly to the board.

"It is very crucial to not just have something brilliant on the paper. It is important to implement. As president of AIIB, I will abide by all the rules, I will work under the leadership of the board of governors and the leadership of board of directors," Jin added.

On oversight, he said, "I want to make sure all the policies we designed and approved by the board will be implemented to the letter, and the oversight mechanism will be implemented without any compromise."

"We have confidence to tell the whole world, we mean what we say, and we will achieve our objective of building the AIIB into a truly great multilateral development institution with 21st-century governance," he added.

The Beijing-based development bank is designed to provide financial support for infrastructure development and regional connectivity in Asia.

"Asia faces severe connectivity gaps and significant infrastructure bottlenecks. It is critical to address these needs, because good infrastructure is a foundation for robust economic growth, and expand economic opportunities and improve the quality of life for everybody," Jin said.

The AIIB was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 and officially established late last year. It is headquartered in Beijing.

With authorized capital of 100 billion U.S. dollars, the AIIB prioritizes investment in energy, power generation, transportation, rural infrastructure, environmental protection and logistics. Endi