New Development Bank set by BRICS to expand to private sector next year

The New Development Bank (NDB), a multilateral financial institution set up by BRICS, will expand its loan operations to the private sector next year, its president said in Shanghai on Friday.

Loans to the private sector are expected to account for 30% of the bank's business, NDB President K.V. Kamath said at the second NDB-BRICS Business Council (BBC) Dialogue in Shanghai, held during the BBC annual meeting, in the run-up to the 9th BRICS Summit in Xiamen, Fujian Province in east China.

The NDB was set up with an initial authorized capital of 100 billion dollars after leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa agreed on its establishment during the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, in 2014. It officially opened in Shanghai in 2015.

Currently, the bank only offers loans to governments or public programs.

Kamath said the bank has operated smoothly over the last two years, and will need support from both public and private sectors to achieve success.

The NDB approved loans totaling 1.55 billion U.S. dollars last year to seven programs on sustainable development and is expected to offer loans of 2.5 billion U.S. dollars this year, according to Zhou Qiangwu, director of the International Economics and Finance Institute, a Ministry of Finance think tank.