Beijing / AFP Canada will apply to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Ottawa’s finance department said on Wednesday, in a coup for Beijing after Washington had tried to dissuade US allies from signing up. “Canada is always looking for ways to create hope and opportunity for our middle class as well as for people around the …

  Bloomberg Australia’s government will probe bank lending to small businesses as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tries to stave off opposition calls for a broader inquiry into the financial industry. The inquiry, to be conducted by the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, comes on top of moves to summon chief executives of the nation’s big four banks to testify …

  Bloomberg Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.’s banking unit and its two biggest Japanese peers plan to sign a non-binding agreement with Saudi Arabian Oil Co. in Tokyo this week to expand lending to the state-run firm as it considers an initial public offering, reports said. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. President Takashi Oyamada and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. …