August 3, 2003	Sunday	Jumadi-us-Sani 4, 1424

BEIJING, Aug 2: Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell and a Chinese partner plan to borrow a record $2.7 billion from a group of banks to fund a vast petrochemical project in south China, state media said on Saturday.

The money will be channelled into the construction of the Huizhou complex, a venture with the China National Offshore Oil Corp, which at $4.5 billion is the biggest foreign investment in Chinese history, the China Daily said.

Chinese banks will lend $2 billion, while $700 million will come from eight foreign banks, including the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the paper said.

The rest of the funding will be provided by the two joint venture partners themselves, as each of the companies will pour 900 million dollars into the project, according to the paper.

The paper said this would constitute the largest financing of a private project in the Asia-Pacific region.—AFP