Beijing, Jumada I 15, 1436, Mar 6, 2015, SPA -- Countries outside Asia will be able to take part in a new development bank based in China, dpa quoted the Chinese finance minister as saying Friday. The founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will be announced by the end of March, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said during a press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing. Lou said twenty-seven countries had so far confirmed that they would join the AIIB, widely seen as a rival to the Asian Development Bank, which is dominated by Japan. Current AIIB members agreed that it should consider Asian countries for membership first, and countries outside the region would be the next step, he said. The China-based bank is expected to start with funds of some 100 billion dollars, about half of which could be provided by China. The AIIB is intended to fund infrastructure projects such as roads and telecomms networks across Asia, and is due to be set up this year. -- SPA 11:17 LOCAL TIME 08:17 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w