Chinese bank's loans to ASEAN amount to 50 billion RMB

The loans provided by the Export-Import Bank of China to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have amounted to more than 50 billion RMB (6.3 billion U.S. dollars) over the past 12 years, the bank's president said on Tuesday.

The loans have funded projects ranging from power plant in Indonesia, shipbuilding and sugar factories in Vietnam, and texture factory in Thailand, as well more than 30 projects in Singapore, Li Ruogu told reporters after the opening ceremony of the third China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit held in Nanning, capital of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Since its founding in 1994, the state-owned Export-Import Bank of China has become a key channel of policy financing for China's mechanic, electronic and high-tech exporters. It has also funded Chinese companies for their overseas investment projects.

In recent years, the bank, with total assets of more than 350 billion RMB (44.4 billion dollars), has provided substantial financial assistance to some Chinese enterprises and helped them increase investments in ASEAN countries.

Source: Xinhua