Iran to join BRICS NDB bank

Iranian officials said on Monday that the country plans to join an independent bank established by BRICS member states.

The announcement was made by Mohammad Khazaei, Iran’s deputy economy minister for development affairs, at conference on Iran-Brazil economic cooperation.

The agreement to establish the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), with an initial capitalization of $100 billion, was signed by the BRICS member states — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — during the group's 6th summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, in July 2014.

The bank is meant to act as an alternative to the existing American and European-dominated financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

It was officially launched at the last BRICS summit in the Russian city of Ufa earlier this year.

Khazaei said Iran’s joining the NDB will help the expansion of economic relations with all BRICS states, specifically Brazil.

The NDB’s main goal is to promote sustainable development in BRICS states. In July, it opened for operations in Shanghai with the startup capital of $50 billion.

The paid-in reserves are planned to be denominated in each country’s currency. The Chinese renmimbi is also expected to replace the dollar at the BRICS Bank, especially for projects in Asia.

The NDB will name its first investment in April next year and the first loan will be issued in Chinese yuan not dollar.

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