AIIB agreement to be signed next week

BEIJING -- Representatives of the 57 prospective founding countries of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will meet in Beijing Monday to sign an agreement of the bank, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with heads of delegations from the prospective founding countries and Premier Li Keqiang will send a written message to the AIIB special finance ministers' meeting, spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing.

The AIIB is designed to finance infrastructure construction in the continent. It will have authorized capital of $100 billion and the initial subscribed capital is expected to be around $50 billion.

After signing the agreement, representatives of prospective founding members will bring the agreement back to their countries for legal adoption processes, according to the Chinese Finance Ministry.

The bank, which will be headquartered in Beijing, is expected to be officially established at the end of 2015.