Portugal and Brazil are included in the list of the 51 founders of the new international bank proposed by China, the “Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank” (AIIB), announced last week by the Chinese Ministry of Finance.

More countries may also apply for membership of the AIIB but will no longer be entitled to founder status, which allows countries to be involved in establishing the rules of the new bank.

The United States, Japan and Canada are absent from the project, but the list of founders include large economies such as Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, South Korea and Russia.

The AIIB was launched last October in Beijing with the support of 21 Asian countries, aiming to finance the construction of infrastructure in the Asia/Pacific region, which is expected to cost about US$8 billion over the next decade .

Half of the 28 Member States of the European Union are founders of the new bank, Brazil is the only Latin American country on the list, which includes just two African countries (South Africa and Egypt).

Australia, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and New Zealand are also part of the founding core of the AIIB.

From Asia, as well as Japan, the list is mostly missing countries currently at war or that are very isolated, including North Korea, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Iraq.

The new bank will be formally established this year, with starting capital of US$50 billion and will be based in Beijing.