CAIRO: China's Development Bank Corp. continues its push to enter the global market as the leading development source for the third world. Now, the bank, which acts as Beijing's right arm in the development push the Asian giant is making, has announced plans to establish an office in Egypt as a gateway to the region and continent. The Cairo office of the bank is expected to open later this year and will be the first branch located outside China. A Hong Kong branch was opened only days ago, marking the first opening outside the mainland, the bank's official website said. Following the Cairo branch, the CDB plans on opening offices in Russia and Brazil in their global effort. The company's Vice President Li Jiping said at a press conference last week that the bank has agreed to lend $10 billion to Brazil's state-controlled oil company, helped finance a fund in Africa and extended loans in June to Russia's development bank. “Our strategic goal is to become an internationalized bank,†Li told reporters, adding that the Hong Kong branch will cover Asia. “Mainland organizations can effectively go out to the international market through this Hong Kong platform.†Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on July 20 that the nation’s more than $2 trillion of foreign-exchange reserves should be used to help companies invest abroad. China’s “going out†strategy is also designed to help ensure the nation has access to the resources needed to sustain the fastest economic expansion among the world’s 20 largest economies. Egypt could be vital to its Middle East and African influence, where the entire Western world seems to have development projects underway. The China-Africa Development Fund, which has helped finance a cotton facility in Malawi and power station in Ghana, was set up in June 2007 with an initial $1 billion from China Development Bank. BM
