China launches Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank despite U.S. opposition

Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a new international development bank seen as a competitor to the U.S.-led World Bank at a ceremony on Saturday. Several countries including Britain and Germany have agreed to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in recognition of China's growing economic power. Beijing is looking to change the rules of global development finance, despite opposition from the United States. The president says the bank aims to invest in projects that were "high-quality, low-cost". The AIIB is expected to lend $10 bn-$15 bn (AED 36bn – 55bn) a year for the first five to six years and will start operations in the second quarter of 2016.