China Development Bank issued Thursday its first loan to a lamp company in Egypt as part of a large loan program of China to support the development of African small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME).

The loan of 200,000 U.S. dollars was lent to Wonder Lighting Egypt, a company which produces various kinds of lamps with a registered capital of 12 million Egyptian pounds (about US$2.08 million).

Zhu Qingdong, chief of the Cairo Office of China Development Bank, said the total of the loans to the company was one million dollars and the rest would all be issued by the end of the year, with a three-year term.

"To provide financial support for African SMEs is an important part of China-African cooperation," said Zhu. "It will help create local jobs and promote local economic and social development and be of great significance to the overall China-African cooperation. "

At the opening ceremony of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Nov. 8, 2009, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced eight new measures the Chinese government will take to strengthen China-Africa cooperation in the next three years. To support Chinese financial institutions in setting up a special loan of one billion dollars for small- and medium-sized African businesses is part of the measure to help Africa build up financing capacity.

China Development Bank has carried out businesses in this area with more than 20 African countries, according to Zhu. And initial cooperation agreements have been reached with loans of nearly 300 million dollars, he added.

Also on Thursday, China Development Bank and the National Bank of Egypt signed a financial cooperation framework agreement. The two banks will strengthen cooperation in such areas as development of projects, sharing of resources and training.

The Cairo Office of China Development Bank was set up on Nov. 10 last year. It is the first overseas branch of the bank. China Development Bank Corporation is dedicated to the mission of strengthening the competitiveness of China and improving the living standards of its people in support of the state's medium- to long-term development strategies and policies.

(Xinhua News Agency November 12, 2010)