China raises capital base of development bank

BEIJING -- The central bank has injected new capital into the China Development Bank (CDB), which provides medium and long term financing to major national projects, in a bid to reinforce its capital adequacy.

Wutongshu Investment Platform Co. Ltd., a platform for investing foreign exchange reserves that was established in November 2014, invested $48 billion into CDB, according a People's Bank of China, the central bank, statement released Tuesday.

After the investment, CDB registered capital surged from 306.7 billion yuan ($48 billion) to 421.2 billion yuan, and shareholder equity rose to 986.3 billion yuan.

Wutongshu now holds a 27.19 percent of shares in CDB; the Ministry of Finance holds 36.54 percent; Central Huijin Investment Ltd. 34.68 percent; and the National Council for Social Security Fund 1.59 percent.

The injection enhanced the capital base and its ability to ward off risks, the statement said.

The central bank also said Wutongshu invested $45 billion in the Export-Import Bank of China, a policy bank focusing on export and import loans.