China Construction Bank spearheads unprecedented private sector loan

CCB-led consortium granted $959.62mln loan to AsiaAlum in a much needed financing to weather the crisis.

A consortium of 12 banks led by the Zhaoqing branch of China Construction Bank (CCB), one of the country's big four State-owned lenders, recently agreed to loan aluminum processor AsiaAlum Group 6.5 billion yuan ($959.62 million), the largest ever from a Chinese bank to a private sector company.

The contribution of 1.45 billion yuan ($214.06 million) from CCB's Zhaoqing branch also marks the biggest loan the bank has granted to a non-State enterprise.

"The move will be mutually beneficial for both AsiaAlum Group and the 12 banks involved," Xiao Lieming, president of CCB's Zhaoqing branch, told China Daily in an interview.

"It will enable us to forge a more in-depth, extensive and solid relationship with such a growing company while bringing both social and economic benefits to us."

"If it had not been for the help of the banks, AsiaAlum Group would not have been able to weather the global economic recession of the past two years," noted Zhong Dongping, a member of the company's board.

The loan will offer enough financial support for the firm's business operations in the coming five to ten years, Zhong said.

View the full story in China Daily.