CADFund commits $2b investment to Africa

BEIJING -- The China-Africa Development Fund has committed to investing $2 billion in Sino-African cooperation projects, the China Development Bank, the fund's shareholder said Wednesday.

The fund will lead to $10 billion in investment on the part of Chinese enterprises according to preliminary estimates, CDB Vice-President Yuan Li said at the 4th Conference of Chinese and African entrepreneurs.

The promised fund involves 60 projects in 30 African countries, which include an economic and trade zone in Egypt, a cement factory in Ethiopia and a power plant in Ghana, Yuan said.

Separately, the CDB made over $1 billion in investment commitment towards small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa, Yuan said.

The two investment commitments are among the eight major Sino-African cooperative measures announced by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2006.

Meanwhile, the CDB recorded $13.7 billion in outstanding loans towards Sina-African cooperation projects by the end of June, Yuan noted.

Yuan added that the CDB will strengthen investing and financing support to Africa's infrastructure construction, agriculture, energy and mineral resources, and transport sectors.

CADFund was established in June 2007 with initial funding of $1 billion solely funded by the CDB, one of the country's three policy banks.