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How Hong Kong could become member of Beijing-led AIIB by June if HK$1.2 billion buy-in gets green light

City seeks to become a member and a corporate treasury centre for the Beijing-led financial institution

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James Lau, under secretary for financial services and the treasury. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Hong Kong could become a member of the Beijing-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) by the middle of this year as long as lawmakers approve a HK$1.2 billion share buy-in, a senior government official said.

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“There will be an annual meeting of the AIIB at the end of June and applications for new members could be approved there,” James Lau, under secretary for financial services and the treasury, said during a Legislative Council financial services panel on Thursday.

Lau said over 30 countries were applying for the membership, with a vote set to take place at the June meeting. He added that Hong Kong could become chair of the AIIB, even though it is not a sovereign member.

“Considering our experience with the Asian Development Bank, we should have the chance to chair the AIIB,” Lau said, responding to questions from lawmaker Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung.

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“Even though we are a non-sovereign member, our rights and responsibilities are the same as a sovereign member.

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