Accessibility links

Breaking News

BRICS Bank Opens For Business In Shanghai


The new BRICS bank has opened for business in Shanghai.

The so-called emerging BRICS countries are made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and their New Development Bank has been seen as a challenge to the Washington-based International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

The opening on July 21 -- announced in a short dispatch by China's official Xinhua news agency -- comes two weeks after a BRICS summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Moscow -- which has suffered huge currency fluctuations and struggled to attract investors since the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine -- sees the bank and a BRICS currency-reserve pool as an alternative to the U.S.- and European-dominated world financial system.

The BRICS countries represent 40 percent of the world's population and are seeding the bank with an initial $100 billion in capital.

“The BRICS nations are redefining the world,” said Leslie Maasdorp, a South African bank vice president who is charged with opening the bank's first regional branch in Johannesburg.

Based on reporting by AFP and Africa News Agency

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG