In Beijing:
Helen Ni
Phone: +86 10 5860 3262
E-mail: hni@ifc.org

In Hong Kong:
Andrew Mak
Phone: +852 2509 8110
E-mail: amak@ifc.org

In Washington:
Lucie Giraud
Phone: +1 (202) 458-4662
E-mail: lgiraud@ifc.org


Beijing, June 1, 2007 - IFC today signed agreements with Bank of Beijing to help the bank develop market access in financing energy efficiency and international trade. Investments in energy efficiency are an opportunity for Bank of Beijing to add value to its clients and contribute to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  The trade finance partnership will help Bank of Beijing play a larger role in trade among developing countries.

The IFC China Utility-Based Energy Efficiency Finance Program will provide a risk-sharing facility of 130 million Chinese renminbi ($17 million), enabling Bank of Beijing to leverage an overall loan portfolio of 300 million renminbi ($39 million) in energy efficiency projects. Most of the lending will go to energy service companies that offer such services as industrial boiler retrofitting, wasted heat recovery, implementation of co- and tri-generation projects in district heating, and optimization of industrial energy use.

“Today’s signings mark IFC’s growing involvement in the reform and development of China’s financial sector, and significant progress in our partnership with Bank of Beijing,” said Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO. “We are delighted to support Bank of Beijing’s growth in the energy efficiency finance market, because it is good for business and good for the environment.”

Bank of Beijing is the first city commercial bank to partner with IFC in the energy efficiency finance program, and the agreement expands the program to a leading player in China’s banking industry. Through partnership with Bank of Beijing, IFC expects to catalyze the development of similar energy efficiency products by other financial institutions in China.

“As a leading city commercial bank, we are looking for opportunities to diversify our product portfolio in more challenging markets through this cooperation with IFC,” commented Yan Bingzhu, Chairman of the Board at Bank of Beijing.  “We are very pleased to have IFC as our strategic partner and would like to continue strengthening our partnership in the future.”

IFC’s other partner in the energy efficiency finance program is Industrial Bank, which has approved loans of more than 150 million renminbi.

Bank of Beijing is also joining IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program, both as a confirming bank and an issuing bank, and becomes the first city commercial bank in China to do so. By providing risk coverage for challenging trade transactions, the program will help Bank of Beijing expand its international trade finance business, especially with banks and customers in emerging markets, and as a result, further facilitate trade flows among developing countries.

About IFC
IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, promotes open and competitive markets in developing countries.  IFC supports sustainable private sector companies and other partners in generating productive jobs and delivering basic services, so that people have opportunities to escape poverty and improve their lives. Through FY06, IFC Financial Products has committed more than $56 billion in funding for private sector investments and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC Advisory Services and donor partners have provided more than $1 billion in program support to build small enterprises, to accelerate private participation in infrastructure, to improve the business enabling environment, to increase access to finance, and to strengthen environmental and social sustainability. For more information, please visit www.ifc.org.

About the IFC China Utility-Based Energy Efficiency Program
Funded by IFC, the Global Environment Facility, and the Finnish government, the IFC China Utility-Based Energy Efficiency Program is an energy efficiency financing program designed by IFC at the request of China’s Ministry of Finance, to stimulate investment in energy efficiency and clean energy projects.  The goal is to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by creating a sustainable financing mechanism for small and medium enterprises to invest in energy efficiency projects. IFC cooperates with Chinese commercial banks and offers them a facility whereby IFC shares part of the loss for all loans within the energy efficiency portfolio. The program also provides advisory services on marketing, engineering, project development, and equipment financing services to banks, project developers, and suppliers of energy efficiency products and services. For more information, visit www.ifc.org/chuee.

About the IFC Global Trade Finance Program
The IFC Global Trade Finance Program supports trade with the emerging markets worldwide.  It aims to increase the developing countries’ share of global trade and promote South-South flows of goods and services. The $1 billion program provides guarantees and pre-export cash advances to banks in more than 60 countries.  With its global mandate, the program plays a key role in advancing a worldwide network of bank partnerships to finance trade under risk coverage provided by IFC. For more information, visit www.ifc.org/gtfp.

About Bank of Beijing
Founded in January 1996, Bank of Beijing is a joint-stock commercial bank with a shareholding structure of overseas investors and numerous well-known enterprises. It has 125 sub-branches across Beijing and a business outlet in Tianjin. In 2005, Bank of Beijing’s introduced ING Group and IFC as its overseas strategic investors. In 2006, Bank of Beijing opened its branch in Tianjin, marking the significant step of trans-regional development. Its operational and management indicators have all reached international levels. In the Global Top 1,000 Banks List issued by The Banker in 2006, Bank of Beijing ranked 262 in terms of total assets, the highest among more than 110 domestic city commercial banks in China. The ranking means the bank has became a midsize international player in the banking industry. For more information, visit www.bankofbeijing.com.cn.