BEIJING, March 12 -- Britain on Thursday applied to join the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a founding member, the Ministry of Finance said.

China has received confirmation from Britain and is seeking the opinions of other founding countries, the ministry said, noting China welcomed Britain's decision.

The ministry expects Britain to formally become a prospective founding member by the end of March, if all goes well.

The AIIB will be an international financial institution that will provide support to infrastructure projects in Asia.

Twenty one countries including China, India and Singapore signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last October in Beijing to build the bank. Other countries, including Indonesia and New Zealand, soon followed.

China's minister of finance, Lou Jiwei, said on March 6 that 27 countries had applied to jointly build the bank as founding members. The application deadline is on March 31.

It is expected that the AIIB will be formally established by the end of 2015.