ROME, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Italy's state-owned investment bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and UniCredit bank have entered into a partnership to support Italian companies in China, the CDP said in a statement on Thursday.

The two lenders have set up a 300-million-euro revolving line of credit, and have agreed to facilitate access to credit for Italian companies in China through co-financing and through renminbi-denominated funding instruments, the statement said.

"Exports were the principal source of development for Italian companies in the most intense years of the economic crisis, and will continue to be strategic for Italy's strongly manufacturing-based production system," CDP executive Nunzio Tartaglia said in a statement.

"In this context, China is clearly one of the main outlet markets for many made-in-Italy products," Tartaglia said.

UniCredit Corporate & Investment Banking co-head Gianfranco Bisagni added that the partnership with CDP "lays the foundation for stable cooperation, to the advantage of companies that represent the most dynamic part of Italy's economic and productive system".

"This is extremely important news, because China is undoubtedly one of the most important markets on a global level," China-Italy Chamber of Commerce Secretary-General Marco Bettin told Xinhua.

"Any company that wishes to take its business abroad must rely on lenders such as UniCredit," Bettin explained.

UniCredit is one of the largest lenders in Italy, and has maintained a presence in Asia's main financial and industrial hubs for the past 40 years, according to its website.

The public-private partnership between the bank and CDP "will allow for investments, guarantees, and 360-degree support" for Italian companies in China, Bettin said.

The CDP-UniCredit partnership will also provide "specialized assistance" to small and mid-sized Italian companies operating in China or wishing to do so, added Bettin, who also serves as chief operating officer at the Italy China Foundation.

"This means the possibility of guiding and accompanying Italian businesses in their dialogue with China, for example in deciding how to invest, or the best location in which to set up," Bettin told Xinhua.

State-owned CDP, whose job is to promote Italy's economic development by investing in industry and infrastructure, was founded in Turin in 1850, according to its website. (1 euro = 1.13 U.S. dollars) Enditem

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