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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have affirmed their desire to work alongside the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The AIIB was recently founded with 57 member states, but is expected to be dominated from and bankrolled by Beijing. Some countries, such as the US and Japan, have been criticised for keeping their distance from the nascent bank, which will fund infrastructure projects around Asia.

Given that the ADB and IFC are seen as taking their lead from Tokyo and Washington DC, respectively, speculation has been mounting in recent months as to how they would react to the AIIB’s formation.

Separate statements in recent days, however, have indicated that both institutions are willing to partner with the AIIB on certain projects, with both parties citing the huge gap in infrastructure financing facing Asia.

There will be areas where IFC and AIIB can work together to achieve our mutual interest in supporting development in Asia. Lance Crist, IFC

Speaking to GTR in an email exchange, the IFC’s global head of oil and gas Lance Crist wrote: “Asia’s infrastructure needs are enormous, and development institution financing can only meet a small fraction of that total demand in the region. One of IFC’s key missions is to play a catalytic role by helping channel financing to private sector projects that are economically viable with strong developmental impacts.

“We do not have any concrete plans since it is early in the process of establishing the AIIB, but it is likely there will be areas where IFC and AIIB can work together to achieve our mutual interest in supporting development in Asia.”

With the AIIB, if we co-finance, we will study how we do things, but I don’t have any intention to lower our standards. Takehiko Nakao, ADB

The statement came shortly after the ADB president Takehiko Nakao met with Liqun Jin, the secretary general of the AIIB’s interim secretariat, on the sidelines of the ADB’s annual meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan. The pair discussed future collaboration, with Nakao voicing optimism that they could work together, but warning that the ADB would not sacrifice its standards in order to do so.

Nakao said: “ADB is happy to co-operate, including co-financing, with the AIIB. With the AIIB, if we co-finance, we will study how we do things, but I don’t have any intention to lower our standards. We shared the importance of safeguard policies about the environmental and social protection.”

In 2013, the global trade finance gap was estimated at US$1.9tn. Of this gap, US$1.1tn is in developing Asia. ADB

In the months post-AIIB inception, figures from the ADB have been keen to stress to GTR that they view the AIIB not as a competitor, but as a potential partner whose capital could help satiate the huge trade and infrastructure gap faced by Asian nations.

A recent ADB report said: “In 2013, the global trade finance gap was estimated at US$1.9tn. Of this gap, US$1.1tn is in developing Asia.” The World Bank, of which the IFC is a division, has previously cited the US$2.5tn infrastructure gap as one of the greatest challenges facing South Asian development.

Further details on the structure, staffing and methodology of the AIIB are expected to be released before the end of 2015, with the recruitment drive known to be underway. Sources claim that the bank will be staffed with experienced development financiers, and indeed the presence of Liqun Jin, a former ADB staffer, on the interim secretariat, would appear to confirm this.

In recent weeks, three new free trade zones have been inaugurated in China, out of which companies and banks can trade Rmb cross-border.

At the same time as escalating the formation of the AIIB, China has been pushing the internationalisation and liberalisation of the renminbi. In recent weeks, three new free trade zones have been inaugurated in China, out of which companies and banks can trade Rmb cross-border. Figures in China roundly agree that this is a step towards a more nationwide programme of currency liberalisation.

And so there was some surprise at a report from the Korean news agency Yonhap this week which claimed that the AIIB would settle its transactions in US dollar, citing a “diplomatic source” in South Korea.

Speaking to GTR in Beijing this week, Yongmei Evers Cai, partner at the law firm Simmons & Simmons, indicated that it would be “unexpected” should the report be true, saying that the logical conclusion to the currency reforms undertaken by Beijing would be for the AIIB to settle in Rmb.