The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) said Monday it doubled its lending last year, providing 48.28 billion yuan (about US$6 billion) in syndicated loans.

 

Almost all its loans -- 94.1 percent -- were granted to domestic enterprises, it said in a statement. ICBC, China's biggest bank by assets size, provided loans to back projects such as electric power, urban infrastructure, roads, real estate and the petrochemical industry.

 

Syndicated loans usually refer to a very large loan in which a group of banks work together to provide funds for one borrower. ICBC said the aggregate amount of syndicated lending it was engaged in reached as high as 283.19 billion yuan (US$35.18 billion) last year.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2006)