[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s top economic policymaker will attend the first annual general meeting of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing, the Finance Ministry said June 23.

Besides attending the AIIB meeting on June 25, Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho will also participate in the opening ceremony of the won-yuan direct market there, the ministry said.

The minister will deliver a keynote speech at the AGM about the role and future of the China-led infrastructure development bank.



The AIIB meeting will decide the host country for the second AGM next year. Korea was earlier picked as the sole candidate country.

Initiated by China, the AIIB was formally launched earlier this year, with 57 founding members including Korea, in a bid to promote economic growth in Asia by supporting infrastructure investment.

South Korea has a stake of 3.81 percent, the fifth-largest among member countries.

Yoo will also participate in a ceremony on Friday to celebrate the opening of the market for direct trading of the Korean won and the Chinese yuan.

The Chinese won-yuan exchange market is a follow-up to a summit meeting between Korean President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in October 2015.

Korea’s Hana Bank and Woori Bank have been designated as the clearing banks to take charge of won-yuan settlements and payments.

The direct trade market in Seoul was already opened in December 2014 with its daily turnover reaching an average of $2.26 billion as of end-November last year.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)