"We lend only in US dollars," Jin said at a press conference, answering question on whether the institution would issue loans in other denominations.
He clarified that other currencies, including the euro and the yuan, could be used to attract capital from the international market.
The bank, seen as a rival to Western-dominated international institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, was officially launched on Saturday with $100 billion in capital.
Jin, president-designate as of August, was confirmed AIIB's first president at its inaugural session.
"As a multilateral development institution and taking into account the existing international financial system, we use English as a working language and we use the US dollar as the currency of the institute," Jin said.
AIIB, with 57 founding countries, is set to begin looking into infrastructure and energy project loans by mid-2016, Russian Economic Development Minister and AIIB Board of Governors member Alexei Ulyukayev said on Saturday.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will issue its first loans before the end of 2016, bank President Jin Liqun said.
"We are preparing a number of projects. We plan to approve the first loans before the end of this year," Jin said at a press conference, without detailing the number of first projects to be approved.
Jin, who was confirmed as the institution’s first leader at its inaugural session after an opening ceremony on Saturday, further declined to enumerate the projects planned to be co-financed with other financial institutions.
"We are absolutely open to co-financing projets with other partners. One thing is certain, we will only work with those who follow the same standards as we do," he reiterated.
AIIB, with 57 founding member countries and $100 in initial capital, is seen as a rival to Western-dominated institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Russian Economic Development Minister and AIIB Board of Governors member Alexei Ulyukaev said on Saturday the bank was set to begin considering infrastructure and energy project loans by the second quarter of 2016.
