BEIJING - Malta and Kyrgyzstan have been approved as prospective founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), China's Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

This brings the number of prospective founders to 37, the ministry said.Membership will be finalized on April 15.

Founding members have the right to make rules for the bank. Countries that applied to join after March 31 will be ordinary members with voting rights only, and less say in the rule-making process.

The AIIB will finance for roads, railways, airports and other infrastructure in Asia. It is expected to be established by the end of this year.