India has been the biggest recipient of support provided by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), receiving more than a quarter of the bank’s total committed finance between 2016 and March 2023.

The AIIB was established in 2016 to fill a need for infrastructure investments in Asia. The bank began life with 57 founding members, of which 37 were within Asia and 20 outside. Since then, it has expanded its member base to 106, which represent 81% of the global population and 65% of global GDP, according to its own estimates. As of July 2023, it has financed projects in 34 countries. 

Between 2016 and March 2023 the bank financed 212 projects worth a total of around $40.4bn, according to AIIB data, of which $35.6bn has been committed. The bank, which is capitalised at $100bn, provides support through both sovereign-backed and non-sovereign-backed financing.

India is the biggest beneficiary of AIIB support, with a total of $9.5bn-worth of committed finance, which accounts for some 26.6% of the bank’s total committed finance up until March this year. The AIIB’s investments in India have spanned energy, transport and public health. Since 2017, it has recorded more annual approved finance than any other member country.

Trailing behind India each with more than $3bn of committed investments are a group of four countries: Turkey, China, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

With $3.9bn-worth of infrastructure commitments, Turkey ranks as the second biggest recipient of AIIB support. Since its first investment in gas storage in 2017, the bank’s interests in Turkey have included traditional energy, renewable energy, public health, transport and post-Covid 19 economic recovery. Alongside the World Bank, the AIIB co-financed programmes to help with vaccine deployment in the country in 2022.

China comes in third place with $3.5bn-worth of finance commitments in infrastructure projects. The AIIB’s investments have ranged from energy to digital infrastructure. In 2021, the bank invested $1bn to help with the Henan floods in July of that year. 

As the largest shareholder of the AIIB, China has considerably more voting power than any other member country, with 26.6% of the voting rights, followed by India which holds 7.6%.

Committed investments in Bangladesh total $3.2bn. In 2020, approved projects in the country came second only to India’s, according to an fDi analysis of AIIB data. During that year, the bank approved $404m in financing to improve cross-border connectivity between Bangladesh and India and provided the government with budget support to mitigate the adverse social and economic impact of the pandemic, specifically helping export-oriented industries and smaller businesses.

During the pandemic, the multilateral development bank committed billions in support of the Covid-19 relief effort. In March last year, it increased the limit on its Covid-19 crisis recovery facility to $20bn. The bank’s response to the pandemic coincided with an increasing number of approved projects and investment in 2020 and 2021. 

In fifth place, Indonesia has received projects worth a total of $3.1bn. In response to the pandemic, the AIIB approved $750m in 2020 and $500m in 2021 to support economic resilience in Indonesia. In December last year, the bank also approved a financing package worth $230m to develop a large-scale pumped storage hydropower facility.

More data trends you might have missed:

• The World Bank's top 10 biggest debtors
• The IMF's top 10 biggest debtors
• The EBRD's 10 biggest debtors

The bank has also made investments in the category of “multicountry”, whereby it offers financial support to projects that span several countries, often via closed-end funds. For example, the AIIB has invested in the development of data centres in emerging Asia through a fund managed by Keppel Data Centres, an arm of Singapore-based conglomerate Keppel Corporation.

Outside Asia, the bank has approved projects in Africa and Latin America. Egypt, which places tenth in the ranking of beneficiaries, is the only non-Asian country to appear in the top 10. In 2021, the AIIB approved a $360m project to support sustainable growth in Egypt by enhancing macro-fiscal sustainability, enabling private sector development and fostering women’s economic inclusion. 

As of March 2023, rounding out the top 10 are: multicountry ($2.9bn); Pakistan ($2.2bn); Uzbekistan ($2.2bn); The Philippines ($2bn); and Egypt ($1.3bn).