After one year of preparation, state-owned China Development Bank (CDB) is opening its first overseas branch in Cairo, Egypt. The branch is part of a move to bolster the bank's global presence and to help assure China's access to African natural resources.

Speaking at the bank's launch ceremony on Tuesday, vice president of CDB Li Jiping said that the opening of the Cairo branch is not only a materialization of the consensus between the two countries, but also a result of the China-Africa Forum that has been held regularly since 2006.

By the end of September, CDB had financed 27 programs in 18 African countries, with an outstanding loan of US$2.15 billion.

The Cairo branch will be operated as a platform to deepen cooperation with African countries in infrastructure, energy and agriculture.

In addition to setting up a China-Africa development fund, CDB encourages Chinese companies to invest in Africa and set aside special loans for small African companies.

"Commercial banks tend to cooperate with a policy bank like CDB to form a consortium when making loans for an African program,"said an international department employee at a Chinese commercial bank. "In doing so, commercial banks can reduce risks."

CDB has established cooperation with Afriexim Bank, Bank of Egypt and National Bank of Egypt.

National Bank of Egypt is the largest commercial bank in Egypt and has an asset of US$42.2 billion, which is almost the same as that of Bank of Beijing and Bank of Shanghai.

As early as 2006, CDB began to develop into global business, participating in ventures such as the "loan for oil"deal with Brazil, the China-Russia oil project and the natural gas pipe for China-Central Asia.

On July 29, the Hong Kong unit of CDB opened, becoming the first branch beyond China's mainland. Chen Yuan, chairman of CDB, said the Hong Kong branch is positioned to facilitate overseas expansion of Chinese enterprises.

Li said the bank will open more overseas branches within 5 to 10 years. It will open a representative office in Moscow at the end of this year and another one in Brazil next year.

Sources with knowledge of the bank said loans for energy projects are the core business for CDB this year.

From January to September, CDB had a new foreign currency loan of US$18.2 billion, an outstanding increase among Chinese banks.

About China Development Bank

Established in 1994, China Development Bank is one of three state-owned policy banks in China. Its main task is to finance large infrastructure projects. Now it is making efforts to transform itself into a public commercial bank.