Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, one of China's leading joint-stock banks, will extend 1 billion yuan (US$145 million) in loans for energy-efficiency projects under a risk-sharing agreement with the International Finance Corp. (IFC).

The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, signed an agreement on Tuesday to provide the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank with 500 million yuan to help start energy-efficiency loans.

The cooperation will support energy-saving projects that will eliminate 3.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in China annually, the equivalent of taking 250,000 cars off the roads each year, the IFC said.

The IFC's model indicates many business opportunities in energy-efficiency financing in China, said Mike Ipson, IFC Country Manager for China and Mongolia.

The risk-sharing agreement falls under the second phase of the IFC's China Utility-based Energy Efficiency Finance Program.

The Shanghai Pudong Development Bank is the third Chinese commercial bank to participate in the program, after the Industrial Bank and the Bank of Beijing.

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2008)