Bank of China (BOC) signed an agreement in Beijing on Wednesday with Sichuan Province to provide areas hit by the May 12 quake with at least 300 billion yuan (US$43.9 billion) in loans for reconstruction over the next five years.

The Sichuan government has estimated post-quake rebuilding will cost more than 1.6 trillion yuan.

The Beijing-based bank, one of the country's top four lenders, said it would also offer financing support for small and medium-sized companies in Sichuan.

The 8.0-magnitude quake, centered in Sichuan, left more than 80,000 people dead or missing and millions homeless.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2009)