Papua New Guinea, Kenya to join AIIB as new members

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank announced on Wednesday its board of governors has approved applications from Papua New Guinea and Kenya to join the bank, thus increasing its approved membership to 86.

The two prospective members, one regional and one non-regional, will go through the required domestic procedures and deposit the first installment of capital with the bank before they become its members officially. They will obtain shares in the bank from its existing pool of unallocated shares, according to the Beijing-headquartered AIIB.

"We're very happy to welcome Papua New Guinea and Kenya as prospective members of AIIB," said Danny Alexander, vice-president and corporate secretary of the bank.