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China bank lends 2.5

bn yuan for

agriculture

BEIJING: The China Agriculture Development Bank (CADB) arranged 2.5 billion yuan in loans for agricultural development in 1995, up 25 percent on the previous year, Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

The loans were used to develop farmland and other natural resources, and to produce and market products, it said.

CADB, one of China's three state policy banks, was established in 1994 to supply and manage funds for purchasing grains, cotton, vegetable oil and other products, it said.

By the end of March, the bank had lent more than 478 billion yuan for purchasing agricultural products and developing agricultural infrastructural projects, Xinhua said.-Reuter