BRICS Bank to finance techno-innovation projects

The New Development Bank (NDB) set up by the BRICS plans to provide lending to technological innovation projects. Established to meet emerging economies’ funding needs, the multilateral lender approved loans worth USD 1.5 billion last year, mainly to finance clean energy and infrastructure developments in BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The BRICS’ share of the world economy shot up from 8.2 per cent in 2002 to 22.2 per cent in 2015. The BRICS now represents two thirds of the developing world’s economy.

This year’s BRICS summit would be held in Xiamen in September.

The BRICS NDB was established in 2014 with an initial fund of USD 100 billion pooled from five BRICS countries.

The bank was launched in Shanghai in July 2015 and issued its first loan in April last year.