State-owned Agricultural Bank of Chinais to form a bank with the World Bank to "support China's
agricultural development and speed up its modernisation" in the
special economic zone of Xiamen, the People's Daily overseas
edition said.
    It gave no further details, but a Chinese banker said the
new International Agricultural Development Bank had capital of
less than 100 mln dlrs and would act mostly as an investment
bank, lending to farm processing businesses and rural
factories.
    He said the World Bank unit is the International Finance
Corp, which lends to private firms.
  REUTER
