ASIA INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK
* Australia has formally signed up to the $US100 billion ($A131.21 billion) Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, joining 56 other countries from across the globe.
* The Chinese initiative aims to help fill an $US8 trillion ($A10.50 trillion) infrastructure deficit across the Asia region over the next decade.
* It will work with the private sector and alongside a range of other international entities such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
* Australia's initial contribution is around A$930 million over five years, making it the sixth largest shareholder.
* Regional members are Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Hong Kong.
* Non-regional members are Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
* The world's largest and third largest economies, United States and Japan, have declined to join.
