Loans of US$225m extended

The Export-Import Bank of Japan on Friday signed agreements in Beijing to extend untied loans of US$225 million to the Bank of China, the Ex-Im Bank said. The loans would be used for three projects - the Xiamen Haicang Bridge Project in the eastern province of Fujian, the Shenzhen Airport Expansion Project in Guangdong province, and the Urumqi Hetan Road Project in the region of Xinjiang, the bank said. All of these projects had been given priority under China's current five-year plan and were expected to help the country's stable economic development, it said. The untied loans do not require purchases of goods and services from Japan.