FRANCE, Germany and Italy have agreed to follow Britain’s lead and join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Financial Times reported yesterday, quoting European officials.

    The decision of the three European countries, which was yet to be officially announced, came in the wake of Britain’s application last week to be a founding member of the US$50 billion bank.

    EU parliament president Martin Schulz said he welcomed the four European nations joining the AIIB, but added the bank must conform to internationally accepted standards.

    South Korea, Switzerland and Luxembourg were also considering joining, Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.

    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 something which is a genuine multilateral institution such as the World Bank, such as the Asia Development Bank,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said during an interview with Sky News over the weekend.

    The AIIB was launched in Beijing last year to spur investment in Asia in transportation, energy, telecommunications and other infrastructure, and expected to come into being within 2015.

    China said earlier this year a total of 26 countries had been included as founder members, mostly from Asia and the Middle East. It plans to finalize the articles of agreement by the end of the year.

    China has said nations could join as founder-members of the AIIB until March 31, and that Japan was included in the invitation.

    In response to U.S. concerns about the standards of the AIIB, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said last week that the AIIB’s operation and governance will be open, transparent, inclusive and responsible.

    “It will draw experiences from other multilateral development banks and avoid their detours so as to be more cost-effective and efficient,” he told a press conference.

    “The AIIB will complement existing multilateral development banks and support the infrastructure and economic development in Asia,” he added.

    (SD-Agencies)