Today, the BRICS group, a financial alliance formed between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, launched its New Development Bank (NDB), set up to provide loans to developing countries to assist in financing their infrastructure projects. Although the BRICS group deny it was launched to rival the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, it will see be seen as an alternative to them. The first NDB President, Kundapur Vaman Kamath from India, has stated that the bank was not created to challenge the existing system but “to improve and complement the system in our own way.” Additionally, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, has previously said the group illustrated “a new polycentric system of international relations.”
The bank’s operating capital comes in at around $50 billion, though that will more than double in future years. Unsurprisingly, the largest contributor out of the 5 BRICS members has been, and will undoubtedly continue to be, China. Following the creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, based in Beijing, China now has 2 potential rivals to the current global investment system.
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