China Development Bank extends &96b loans for infrastructure

BEIJING - China Development Bank, a wholly state-owned policy bank, unveiled a lending plan on Thursday that will see at least 590 billion yuan ($96 billion) in new loans made for infrastructure projects in 2015.

Of the new loans, at least 400 billion yuan will be used to support housing renovation projects in shanty towns in urban areas. Meanwhile, 100 billion yuan will be available to the railway sector, with another 90 billion yuan going to key water infrastructure projects, the bank said.

The new lending comes after the bank granted 408.6 billion yuan in 2014 in loans to support shanty town renovation projects. In the same year, the bank's new lending to railways and water projects reached 119.5 billion yuan and 81.4 billion yuan, respectively.

The bank also said on Thursday its net profits hit 88.4 billion yuan last year. By the end of 2014, the bank's total assets topped 10 trillion yuan and the non-performing loan ratio stood at 0.63 percent.