Infrastructure bank taking shape

China is preparing for the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and will try to complete a preliminary intergovernmental memorandum by this fall, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said at the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan province on Thursday.

"Unlike the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, which set targets for alleviating poverty, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will mainly promote infrastructure development," Lou said.

"We will make some innovations in the mechanism of the bank in hopes that it will operate like a commercial institution. The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank are currently too similar to government agencies in the way they operate," he said.

As a regional and multilateral bank, the infrastructure bank will raise capital by issuing bonds, with its initial capital target set at $50 billion.

China is looking for regional partners to set up the bank and will gradually open membership of the bank to countries outside the region. Many countries have expressed a desire to become founding members, Lou said.