Goverment-owned China Development Bank is set to issue a $1 billion multipurpose loan to small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa, a bank official has announced.
The loan, which will be provided over the next two years, is the second such financing the bank provided as part of an assistance package pledged during the 2009 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. The first loan, worth $1 billion, was issued the same year.
The new multipurpose loan is expected to help African SMEs acquire more financing, enhance local businesses’ access to foreign currency exchanges, and improve Africa’s industrial infrastructure, said Liu Hao, deputy head of CDB’s international cooperation office, according to China Daily.
“The special purpose loan is aimed at broadening the financing channel of African SMEs, vitalizing local economies, adding employment and promoting export,” he explained.
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