AIIB takes shape

China is hosting the signing ceremony of the 57-nation Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a new international financial institution. Delegates from the 57 member countries have arrived in China to ink the articles of association of the AIIB, viewed by some as rival to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The 57 founding member countries of the China-led AIIB began signing articles of association in Beijing, setting up the new institution on Monday. Australia became the first country to pen the document in the Great Hall of the People in the morning. Germany, South Korea, United Kingdom and Australia are among the founding members of the AIIB which will have billions of dollars to lend. The new global financial institution is expected to go into operation later this year. However, the United States and Japan – the world's largest and third-largest economies respectively – have declined to join. Japan and the US, which oppose AIIB, are the most prominent countries not to join the China-based multinational financial institution. The delegations from the 57 founding members will sign articles that determine each member's share and the bank's initial capital. The US has questioned the governance standards of the new global bank, which it sees as spreading Chinese "soft power". The AIIB, which was created in October las year by 21 countries, led by China, will fund Asian energy, transport and infrastructure projects, according to a news agency.