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ABC moves to the forefront in lending

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-04 18:22

Several senior executives at Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), haven't taken a day off for several weeks. They have been busy in increasing the credit lines to different provinces that are gearing up for the big investment bonanza as part of the government's 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) fiscal stimulus program.

Special coverage: Fiscal Stimulus Package Related readings:  Insurers to finance infrastructure projects  Four banks jump into railway investment  China spells out stimulus financing

Xiang Junbo, ABC's president, for instance, went to Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province on Dec 2 to sign a credit agreement with the provincial government and flew back to Beijing on the same day to attend to other loan businesses. He spent no more than 3 hours in Hangzhou on that day.

In the past several weeks, the bank has agreed to lend up to 600 billion yuan to four provinces to help finance various commercial, agricultural and infrastructure projects. Other than Zhejiang, the provinces that have received a credit boost from ABC include Anhui, Jiangsu and Guangdong. The ABC's credit commitment is likened by Chen Miner, the governor of Zhejiang province, to "giving coal to needy families in a snowy winter night."