A contract offering a loan of 430 million yuan (about US$50 million) by Zhejiang Branch of the Construction Bank of China (CBC) to Songcheng Group was signed Sunday in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province.
The loan, the largest of its kind, is to be used by Songcheng Group to develop the Longquan Mountain National Primitive Forest Park and other tourist projects.
Zhu Fanyu, president of CBC Zhejiang Branch, said that financial institutions should not only offer loans, but also expand their consultant services to more sectors when China makes access to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
As the largest private tourist investment enterprise, the Hangzhou-based Songcheng Group has developed about 19,000 hectares of tourist area and its total capital has reached 1.5 billion yuan.
(People's Daily 11/20/2000)
