The Bank of China (BOC) said on Wednesday it gave no more than 60 billion yuan (US$8.82 billion) of loan credit to Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to support energy projects.

The bank had signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with the local government, said a BOC official.

The money would go to coal production and related chemical bases in the east of the region, said the official. Thermal power plant construction and other major infrastructure projects would also be financed.

BOC had also signed contracts involving 6.4 billion yuan with transportation and housing construction department of the government, and other energy and metal companies in the area.

Last month, BOC offered the central province of Hubei 300 billion yuan in loan for construction, and agreed to provide Sichuan Province with at least 300 billion yuan (US$43.9 billion) in loan for post-quake reconstruction over the next five years.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2009)