BEIJING: China’s Ministry of Finance welcomed the decision by Denmark and Australia to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
The ministry said in a statement that Denmark filed its application letter on Saturday while Australia made its application on Sunday.
China would first seek the opinions of other existing members, and if approved, both Denmark and Australia would officially be founding members of the AIIB on April 12 and April 13 respectively, the ministry said in the statement which was posted on its official website.
Recently, France, Germany, Italy and Luxembourg had announced their intention to join the AIIB, following United Kingdom’s confirmation to become one of the founding members of the financial institution on March 12.
The AIIB is the idea mooted by Chinese President Xi Jinping last October, aimed at helping to fund infrastructure projects in poor Asian countries.
With an expected initial subscribed capital of US$50 billion, the bank will fund infrastructure projects in Asia and is expected to be formally established by the end of this year.
It was reported that currently more than 30 countries including Malaysia have confirmed their participation in AIIB.
The application deadline for countries to join the bank as founding members is March 31, 2015. -- BERNAMA