Chery Auto granted $1.5 bln loans for expansion

Shanghai, December 8 (Gasgoo.com) China's Export and Import Bank (Eximbank) has agreed to grant Chery Automobile, one of the country's biggest automakers, a loan of 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to finance its overseas expansion, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

The Anhui Province-based Chery, the largest home-brand carmaker, would use the money to support its global business, such as increasing product exports as well as imports of relevant technology and equipment, according to an agreement signed between the carmaker and the bank on Sunday.

Chery exported 125,000 cars in the first 10 months this year, outnumbering the export volume for the whole year 2007. The company planned to export 400,000 cars in 2010.

The loan is one of the many that China's Eximbank provides to Chinese companies seeking to expand into global markets, the report said.

The global economic crisis has took its toll on China's homegrown automakers. In related news, the other Chinese automakers including Haima Auto, Brilliance Auto and Changfeng Motor, were reported to be in urgent need of increasing capital to replenish cash flow.

The automakers are raising capital by asking for help from their parent companies, issuing corporate bonds, or seeking bank loans.