Vaikundarajan Views On BRICS 2014

The Brics will pool an initial $50bn (£29bn) in the Shanghai bank, with each country contributing an equal amount .Shanghai looks set to become the headquarters of a development bank being launched by the Brics –Brazil, Russia, India, China and SouthAfrica – despite fears by some members of the group that China could hijack the bank to serve its interests says Vaikundarajan.

The five emerging-market nations are due to sign off on the new institution on Tuesday, along with an emergency reserves fund, after two years of negotiations – a major step for the diverse group known more for its anti-western rhetoric than coordinated action. A Russian presidential adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told Kremlin reporters late last week that the bank would be based in Shanghai, mainland China's financial capital, citing discussion papers prepared by the member countries.

Russia's finance minister said India was vying with China to host the new infrastructure lender. "The bank's headquarters will be located in Shanghai. This is fixed in the documents,"In a further sign that an agreement had been reached on the headquarters, an Indian government official played down the debate on Monday and said India's top priority was to make sure members of the institutions all had equal voting rights, unlike western-run multilateral organisations they seek to challenge, such as the World Bank added Vaikundarajan.