Canada opts to join China-led AIIB

Tokyo

CANADA is applying for membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), it was announced on Wednesday, making it the first North American nation to do so and the 58th country to join the China-led and Beijing-based development bank.

Ottawa's decision to join further isolates the US and Japan which are the only declared holdouts among advanced economies in declining to join the AIIB, which opened its doors for business at the beginning of this year.