AIIB head fields questions from news executives

Warren Fernandez, editor, The Straits Times

What is the investment target of AIIB?

We start with infrastructure－physical infrastructure, to be exact. But since we have other productive sectors in mind, we can probably finance projects in the future for nonphysical infrastructure. For instance, education and healthcare are nonphysical infrastructure. Or, if we can help a municipal government better design the way it manages, I think it could be very important.

It's certainly important to build roads and streets, but people don't understand if you don't include the traffic lights, if you don't manage the flow of the people in the city, probably no matter how many roads you build, it's still not enough. So you need to better manage the urban problems. That could be part of our efforts.

Now, when it comes to new technology, I have to be cautious about financing. This is not our job. Any investment in new technology has variants. And I don't think it's appropriate to spend our shareholders' money on something with dubious prospects. This should be left for venture capital to take care of. But once the new technology proves workable and effective, we can't miss it.

So in my view, this is the way we can serve our countries. We apply new technology; we do not invest in developing new technology. This is my personal view.