China's Industrial Bank is to extend 1.5 billion yuan (210 million U.S. dollars) in loans to small and medium-sized businesses for energy efficiency projects, under a risk-sharing agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The IFC, part of the World Bank Group, signed an agreement on Monday to provide Industrial Bank 100 million U.S. dollars to help start energy efficiency loans.

The program is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by five million tons a year, equivalent to the closure of ten 100-mw thermal power stations.

"Our cooperation with the IFC has created a new mode of "green financing", which has yielded great economic and social benefits and will sharpen our bank's edge on energy efficiency loans." said Li Renjie, president of Industrial Bank.

The IFC provided Industrial Bank with risk-sharing coverage of 25 million U.S. dollars in 2006 to help the bank's "green financing service". The bank has provided 900 million yuan (126 million U.S. dollars) in loans to 46 projects, including boiler renovation and waste heat recycling.

Founded in 1998 in eastern Fujian's capital of Fuzhou, the Industrial Bank was one of the first joint-stock commercial banks in China with a total registered capital of five billion yuan.

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2008)