The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, signed a US$50 million loan agreement with Shanshui Group, a leading cement producer in east China's Shandong Province.

 

IFC said the loan will be used by the cement group in debt restructuring and for installation of energy efficient technology.

 

Lars Thunell, IFC executive vice president, said Shanshui Group's investment in environmentally friendly technology should serve as a model for other companies in key industrial sectors across China as they strive to achieve international standards.

 

IFC's loan follows a 7.7 million equity investment it made in the cement group last year, and the group meets the World Bank Group limits for particulate emissions at all plants.

 

From its founding in 1956 through financial year 2005, IFC has committed more than US$40 billion of its own funds and arranged US$24 billion in syndications for 3,319 companies in 140 developing countries.

 

The loans and syndications include US$2.4 billion for 101 projects in China in the past two decades since 1985, which involved six commercial banks on the Chinese mainland.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2006)