The French Development Agency (AFD) agreed Thursday to double its loans to 120 million Euros to support enterprises engaged in energy saving and renewable energies in China.

The agreement was signed in Beijing by the AFD director general Jean-Michel Severino and Chinese vice minister of finance Li Yong.

The project will be carried out by three Chinese commercial banks: China Merchants Bank, Huaxia Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, according to the agreement.

Any enterprise engaged in energy saving and renewable energies can apply for the loans and receive technological support from the project.

The first phase of the project was launched by the AFD in China in 2007, involving 60 million Euros.

(Xinhua News Agency March 12, 2010)