China-led AIIB made 'great strides': Philippine finance chief

MANILA - The Philippines is looking forward to working with the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which has already made "great strides" in providing financial support to its partners, said a Philippine Finance Ministry statement released on Friday.

"I am very happy to note that they have made great strides and in fact have lent more on their own than in partnership with others... I think it's an excellent record for a bank so young," Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said in the statement.

"We look forward to working with them and, of course, benefitting from loans and grants from AIIB," said Dominguez, who attended the second annual AIIB meeting held in South Korea recently as a member of its board of governors.

Dominguez congratulated AIIB President Jin Liqun and lauded the AIIB's "excellent" record in financing projects, as well as its organizational efficiency and focus on poverty reduction.

The second AIIB annual meeting highlighted the massive infrastructure requirements of its members - from the smallest to the largest ones.

Dominguez earlier said the government is exploring hybrid financing arrangements that will combine development aid and loan to range more funds for its big-ticket infrastructure projects while keeping down borrowing costs.