S. Korean finance chief to join signing for China's AIIB

South Korean Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan will visit China later this month to attend the signing ceremony for the charter of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a diplomatic source said Monday.

With Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled to oversee it, the signing ceremony will be held on June 29 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the source said on the condition of anonymity.

South Korea is among 57 founding members of the AIIB, which is seen as a potential counterbalance to U.S.-led multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

The U.S. and Japan did not join the AIIB, while calling for transparency and higher governance in the new bank.

The AIIB is expected to be operational by the end of this year. (Yonhap)