Indonesia says Jakarta will compete with Beijing to host AIIB

China's Minister of Finance Lou Jiwei, front third left, and other representatives of founding member countries attend the signing ceremony of memorandum of understanding on establishing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing, Oct 24 2014. [Photo/IC]

Indonesia will seek to host the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's headquarters, the finance minister of Southeast Asia's largest economy said on Monday.

A number of countries have said they would participate in the AIIB. The new bank is slated to start operations by the end of the year.

"It is our aspiration to have the headquarters in Jakarta, but of course we will have to compete with Beijing on that," said Bambang Brodjonegoro, speaking on the sidelines of the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong.

Bambang, echoing recent comments by China's Finance Minister, Lou Jiwei, said the infrastructure needs of Asia are endless and the AIIB will be complementary to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which focuses on development and education, as well as infrastructure.

"AIIB will focus only on infrastructure," the Indonesian minister said.

At least 35 countries will join the AIIB by the deadline of March 31, the bank's interim chief, Jin Liqun, said on Sunday.

India, Indonesia and New Zealand have expressed interest in joining the bank, he told a conference in Beijing, following a request by Britain, France, Italy and Luxembourg to become founding members.