The New Development Bank (NDB), formed by the BRICS group of emerging nations, has approved its first loans – $811 million for renewable energy projects in Brazil, China, India and South Africa.

The BRICS bank, with authorised capital of $100 billion, started work last year on funding initiatives for infrastructure projects in emerging markets and in its initial foray has lent $300 million to Brazil, $81 million to China, $250 million to India and $180 million to South Africa.

Did You Know?

• The initial authorized capital of the bank is $100 bln divided into 1 mln shares having a par value of $100,000 each.
• The initial subscribed capital of the NDB is $50 bln divided into paid-in shares ($10 bln) and callable shares ($40 bln).
• The initial subscribed capital of the bank was equally distributed among the founding members.
• The Agreement on the NDB specifies that the voting power of each member will be equal to the number of its subscribed shares in the capital stock of the bank.
• The bank is headquartered in Shanghai, China. 
• The first regional office of the NDB will be opened in Johannesburg, South Africa.
• In March 2016, the New Development Bank announced that it is planning to recruit 100 staff from BRICS countries by the end of 2016.^[