Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday applauded the recent creation of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), saying it could ease Cambodia’s dependence on institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

BRICS member nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa announced the creation of the NDB during the 6th BRICS Summit last month. Similar to the World Bank, the NDB has a mandate to provide funding to the world’s least developed economies and assist in development projects.

“The BRICS bank, which is a big bank, does not fully replace the role of World Bank and the IMF, but it adds another power to help the poor countries and reduce reliance on the one place for funding,” Hun Sen said.

The NDB will be based in Shanghai and operate off an initial capital base of $50 billion, with each BRICS nation contributing $10 billion before the total eventually rises to a planned $100 billion.

“The establishment of the bank will reduce the monopoly of some institutions and will expedite the development of the poor countries to become bigger,” the prime minister said.

“It is a good situation and we also need it as we are a small country,” he added.

A spokesman for the World Bank in Cambodia welcomed the NDB, saying that it was ready to work closely with the new bank on future projects in the Kingdom.

“Clearly, the BRICS countries have a key role to play in helping promote global growth,” the World Bank spokesman said.

“A major part of the World Bank’s strategy is to partner with regional development banks, international organisations, national governments and stakeholders to enhance the effectiveness of our collective work.”

Membership in the BRICS bank will be open to all UN members. The new financial institution is expected to begin operations as early as next year.

The IMF did not return requests for comment.