AIIB approves Nigeria as new member

BEIJING, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved the application of Nigeria to join the bank, bringing its total membership to 104, 11 of which are from Africa.

The AIIB's African members are responsible for over 60 percent of the continent's gross domestic product. They represent over 46 percent of Africa's population, the bank said.

"As a multilateral development bank committed to financially sustainable lending practices, the AIIB offers African members access to affordable capital and infrastructure expertise to help address this gap," said AIIB Vice President and Corporate Secretary Ludger Schuknecht.

"We look forward to forging stronger bonds with our new members in Africa to work together to achieve long-term sustainable development. The AIIB has become a bank that connects Asia to the world," he said.

The AIIB has a further nine prospective members from Africa.