The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with the Export-Import Bank of China for a $300 million credit facility, Ethiopia’s state- owned lender said.

“The amount is to be used by the CBE whenever it needs it in the future,” Chief Business Development Officer Yishak Mengesha said in an e-mailed response to questions yesterday.

The terms of the loan and interest rate will be negotiated later, he said. The money will help fund projects as part of the country’s five-year growth plan, according to Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa-based Foreign Ministry.

The Horn of Africa nation plans to invest about $33 billion in industry and infrastructure by mid-2015. Projects include 10 sugar factories and a $4.8 billion hydropower plant on the Blue Nile river. The loan takes EXIM Bank’s lending to Ethiopia to more than $1.8 billion, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The Chinese bank also plans to lend the government 1.7 billion birr ($98 million) for water-supply projects for the capital, Addis Ababa, the ministry said in an e-mailed statement on Dec. 9.



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