The State Development Bank of China recently opened new branches in five major cities in north, central, northwest and southwest China.

The five cities are Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu, Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi, and Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province.

The Bank has established 27 regional branches, including 14 in the above-mentioned regions.

Established five years ago, the State Development Bank has been playing a major role in funding large infrastructure projects such as the Beijing--Kowloon Railway, the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plan and the Three Gorges Hydropower Plant.

The Bank has a total assets worth 600 billion yuan and holds 40 percent of the state bank's medium and long-term loans.

Bank officials said the establishment of these five branches is a major move on the part of the Bank to implement the government's strategy to development its western regions which are rich in resources but economically backward compared to coastal regions in the east.

The Bank's loans in the underdeveloped areas has reached 380 billion yuan, accounting for 56 percent of its total loans. The establishment of the new branches would enable the Bank to manage and monitor its projects there more efficiently, Bank officials said. (Xinhua)