AIIB members hold meeting in Beijing

Senior government officials from 57 members of the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) began a two-day meeting in Beijing on Monday to discuss the articles of agreement and other pending issues, a diplomatic source said.

This week's meeting is aimed at finalizing the articles before holding the final round of preparatory meetings in Singapore next month, the source said on the condition of anonymity.

South Korea sent a deputy finance minister as a chief negotiator to the meeting, the fourth of its kind, which was under way at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, the source said.

Details of the AIIB are still sketchy, but the source who has the knowledge of this week's meeting said, "A broad outline of each member's stake in the AIIB could be visible after the fourth round of meetings in Beijing."

Fifty-seven countries, including South Korea, became founding members of the AIIB, which is seen as a potential counterbalance to U.S.-led multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank. The U.S. and Japan did not join the AIIB.

They are expected to sign the charter of the AIIB by the end of June and start the bank's operations by the end of this year.

Last week, Chen Fengying, director of the state-run China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told reporters that Beijing expects to hold a 44-percent stake in the AIIB.

Chen also raised skepticism over the use of the U.S. dollar as a settlement currency for the AIIB. (Yonhap)