AIIB 'to have more clout if UK joins'

British participation in the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will help boost the organization's international status and may prompt other European nations to follow suit, Chinese experts said on Friday.

Britain has become the first major Western country to apply for founding membership in the AIIB, a $50 billion multilateral financial institution to fund infrastructure projects in Asia.

The Chinese Ministry of Finance said it is consulting the bank's existing founding members in a multilateral approach to the British application.