Overall Italy ranks twelfth among the 57 AIIB member countries, although 75 percent of the shares of the new regional financial institution are held by Asian countries, with China and India holding 30.3 and 8.52 percent respectively. At the bottom of the list are Malta and the Maldives, with a shareholding of 0.01 percent each. The bank's Chinese executives welcomed Monday's signature as a history-making event. After the ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with representatives of the member countries, telling them that the agreement underscores "solidarity, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness and the drive towards a common development". In a written note, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who is currently in Brussels to attend the China-European Union summit, said the new financial institution could be a "good recipe against global economic decline" and that the AIIB is sure to boost financial flows for infrastructures and strengthen international cooperation. The expectations for Italy's membership in the China-led investment bank are positive, said Michele Geraci, director of the China Economic Research Program at the Nottingham University Business School and of Global Policy Institute China. "Italy can make a considerable contribution to the AIIB. Not only is it a founding member but Italian industries with specific skills can participate in the single projects whose profits are to be divided among the 57 members. The AIIB is a bank capable of generating profit; it is not an NGO," Mr Geraci explained to the AgiChina news agency. In addition, the new bank could support the development of the continent's infrastructures. (AGI)