ASEAN Infrastructure Fund targets May launch

The ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF) initiated by ASEAN leaders is targeted to be launched in May2010, a Malaysian official said here on Tuesday.

The AIF would be operated by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) managed by the Asian Development Bank, Malaysian Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said after opening the Malaysia-Indonesia Economic Seminar here.

Husni said bonds would be issued so that countries with surplus funds could invest in infrastructure development and earn dividends.

The AIF was aimed to channel massive currency reserves to finance the much-needed infrastructure projects in the region.

China, Japan and South Korea will also take part in the AIF to contribute towards the development in the region.

When asked about the ideal fund size to effectively assist infrastructure development in ASEAN countries, Husni said it would depend on the ability of ASEAN countries to contribute and was yet to be determined.

The fund model was also being studied and there should be an outcome over next few months, added Husni.

Earlier in his speech, Husni said that Indonesia was one of Malaysia's trading partners in the region, with trade balance in favor of the former with the bilateral trade for the first nine months of 2009 amounted to 8.1 billion U.S. dollars.

However, Husni stressed that the different statistics published by the Malaysian and Indonesian governments were a result of different mechanisms adopted and it had nothing to do with smuggling.

Source:Xinhua