The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President-Designate Jin Liqun talks to Financial Times' Martin Wolf on Monday about how the AIIB's core values will ensure the success of the bank in bringing much needed infrastructure investment to developing nations in Asia.

On November 9, at the BOAO Forum for Asia Financial Cooperation Conference in London, Mr Jin Liqun told the audience that the AIIB will not be competition to other multilateral development banks (MDBs), though the AIIB's core values will make it more efficient at responding to infrastructure investment needs.

Working alongside other multinational investment banks, the AIIB will help to move investment into infrastructure. With a need for US$1 trillion in investment into infrastructure in the next decade, the AIIB will be working to provide much needed investment capital just as other multilateral development banks will be doing. The difference is the "lean, clean, green" structure of the AIIB and its non-bureaucratic governance which will enable the bank to see projects started quicker than other banks.

Mr Jin said that "Lean" means that the AIIB will not be burdened with unnecessary job roles, and can avoid the internal bureaucracy that can cause delays at other MDBs.

This lack of bureaucracy is not lax governance, nor is it cutting corners; it is a sign that Jin's experiences as vice president at the Asian Development Bank and as an executive at the World Bank will be crucial in streamlining the way in which projects are chosen and how they go from requests for investment to working projects.

Stating how the World Bank's workforce has increased three fold since he worked there, Mr Jin said that the AIIB will not have unnecessary jobs, and thus will not be affected by having an overly large workforce that would be costly to the bank, and could create a red-tape barrier to getting projects started. This efficiency will see projects started and investment returned sooner than may happen at other MDBs.

"Clean" means a tough stance on corrupt practices. Jin told the audience that he wants the AIIB to be "squeaky clean," and that there will be a "zero tolerance towards corruption. "

Pessimists might say that no person can ensure that a bank such as the AIIB does stay without corruption. However, if measured by his past, Jin would be a safe bet to succeed in ensuring corruption stays out of the AIIB. Recollecting his time as vice president of the Asian Development Bank, Jin told the audience how no employees of his were imprisoned for corruption.

The AIIB will be green while bringing much needed infrastructure to Asia. Firstly, Jin said that the AIIB will not do business with companies that have a record of not considering the wider implications of their projects on the environment and on society. Secondly, projects should promote sustainability. Jin hinted that the AIIB would consider investing in coal-burning power stations in order to bring electricity to where it is most needed and where there is no greener alternative; however, instead of building new power stations, the AIIB will sooner invest in projects that can increase efficiency of power delivery and free up generated power for wider use.

The discussion between Mr Jin and Mr Wolf reemphasises that Jin's experience at other MDBs will be crucial to the operation of an efficient and trustworthy bank.

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