More European countries to join China-led development bank

The membership of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is set to expand further with France, Germany and Italy reported to have agreed to join China-proposed institution.

The decision of the three European countries, yet to be officially announced, came in the wake of Britain's application last week to be a founding member of the $50-billion bank, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Australian leaders have been lining up in the past few days to voice support for joining the AIIB, which marks a conspicuous U-turn from the cabinet's previous stance.

"Our position all along has been that we are happy to be part of some thing which is a genuine multilateral institution such as the World Bank, such as the Asia Development Bank," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said during an interview with British media.

In addition, South Korea, Switzerland and Luxembourg have reportedly been pondering whether to join the new international initiative.

As regards Japan, Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said earlier this month that the chance to be an AIIB founding member is available for all Asian countries including Japan by March 31, and the ball is in Japan's court.