BEIJING (Reuters) - China's parliament has taken its first step towards ratifying an agreement with the world's largest emerging nations to create a developmental bank, state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday.
The New Development Bank, also known as the BRICS Bank, is one of two international development banks that China is promoting as an alternative to western institutions such as the World Bank.
The National People's Congress Standing Committee, China's top parliament body, had started reviewing the agreement between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to create the bank, Xinhua quoted Vice Finance Minister Shi Yaobin as saying.
Shi was quoted as saying that China would inject $10 billion into the bank once the Chinese parliament has ratified the agreement, adding that Russia and India had ratified the agreements in April.
China has pledged to contribute a total of $41 billion to the New Development Bank, giving it the largest voting right at 39.5 percent.
The bank, which will be headquartered in Shanghai, will first be led by an Indian, followed by a Brazilian and then a Russian.
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China has also led the creation of a new Asian development bank, known as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which counts among its 57 member countries nations such as Britain and Germany.
(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Nick Macfie)