Johannesburg - No decision has yet been made on the location of the Brics development bank, an investment bank said on Tuesday.
“We are all waiting with anticipation for news of the decisions,” Colin Coleman, managing director of the investment banking division for sub-Saharan Africa at Goldman Sachs, and in Brazil for the Sixth Brics summit, said.
The heads of state meeting at the summit in Fortaleza was expected to take place later on Tuesday.
“I think people feel the Brics development bank is a critical institutional component in implementing the dreams of Brics, a catalyst for the implementation of projects,” he said.
He said the Brics development bank would help facilitate co-operation within the Brics bloc, different from other institutions such as the International Monetary Fund.
Brics comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
“This is a bank that is going to engender co-operation between the Brics countries,” Coleman said.
“It would be a further boost to gross market development within these countries.”
On Friday, Trade and Industry Minister Rod Davies said South Africa would push for the bank to be in Johannesburg.
Briefing reporters in Cape Town ahead of the summit, Davies said public statements that the bank would be located either in Shanghai, China, or New Delhi, India, were speculation.
“There is no decision on the domicile of the bank. It has been agreed... by the heads of state that that would be a decision taken by them,” Davies said at the time.
Earlier last week, Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov said the location of the US100 billion bank would be in either Shanghai or New Delhi.
Coleman said South Africa was playing an equal role within Brics, having joined the bloc in 2011.
“I think South Africa is playing an equal role and, certainly in the Brics business council, Patrice Motsepe has been the chairman and various sub-committees have been chaired by South Africa,” he said.
“That has now rotated to Brazil. It is functioning quite well and South Africa has taken a seat at the table in a smooth way.” - Sapa