On July 22, China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) and Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Company Ltd. (Shenhua Ningmei) signed the Strategic Cooperation Agreement in Yinchuan, Ningxia. Chen Jianguo, Secretary of CPC Committee of Ningxia autonomous region, Ma Qizhi, Chairman of the autonomous region government, Wang Zhengwei, Vice Chairman of the autonomous region government, and Chang Zhenming, President of CCB attended the signing ceremony.

According to the agreement, CCB will provide Shenhua Ningmei with RMB40 billion of credit during the eleventh five-year plan period for the construction of Ningdong Energy & Chemicals Base and the growth of local businesses. The bank will also offer Shenhua Ningmei such corporate and individual financial services as capital settlement, international financial and accounting consulting and project cost consulting. It is the largest ever amount of bank loans promised to the Ningxia autonomous region.

As the biggest wholly state-owned enterprise in Ningxia, Shenhua Ningmei is mainly engaged in the coal exploitation, washing, processing, export & import, chemical and power business. With a total investment exceeding RMB200 billion, Ningdong Energy & Chemicals Base, whose construction Shenhua Ningmei is responsible for, is claimed to be the No.1 project of Ningxia.

Chang Zhenming said that as the implementation of the national western development strategy moves ahead steadily Ningxia is facing the strategic opportunities of social and economic progress. CCB will, as always, try its best to provide quality and efficient financial services for Ningxia’s economic growth, support the autonomous region’s transport, energy, power, telecommunications, chemical, metallurgy, pharmaceutical, equipment manufacturing and educational industries as well as key construction projects including the “west-east power transmission” thermal power base and the 100-million-ton coal base, offer credit to back-bone enterprises and fuel the growth of competitive small and medium-sized businesses and special industries in a bid to contributing more to the sustainable growth of local economy.

It is said that during the tenth five-year plan period CCB issued a total of more than RMB50 billion of credit for the economic growth of Ningxia. With the bank’s credit support, a number of infrastructure projects in Ningxia like the Shizhong Express Way, Yinchuan Water Supply Plant and the new site of Yinchuan No.2 Middle School were completed and put into operation, the local power, coal, petrochemical and natural gas industries developed rapidly and the competitiveness of such large and medium-sized enterprises of the autonomous region as GITI Tire, Qingtongxia Aluminum Group and Meili Paper grown considerably. In the first half of 2006, CCB especially offered credit support for the business operation and project construction of 20 major enterprises of Ningxia, including Ninglu Coal Power, Yinglite Chemicals, Qiyuan Pharmaceuticals and dam power generation.

On the same day, Chen Jianguo, Ma Qizhi and Wang Zhengwei met with Chang Zhenming, extending gratitude to CCB for its support for the economic growth of Ningxia autonomous region over the years.