Deutsche Bank finances Belt and Road projects

Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's largest lender,  announced on May 30 that it has inked a cooperation agreement with China Development Bank (CDB) to finance the Belt and Road projects. The first phase of the agreement lasts for about five years and is worth about US$3 billion, according to German media, Chinanews.com reports.

The agreement makes Deutsche Bank one of the first foreign lenders for the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, the bank's spokesperson told German business daily Handelsblatt.

CDB, China's largest bank for foreign investment and financing cooperation, is the world’s largest development finance institution.

Handelsblatt comments that the infrastructure projects can benefit Germany’s construction and engineering corporations, and the win-win cooperation can also promote the renminbi’s internationalization.

The German newspaper reports that Deutsche Bank is also seeking approval for issuing renminbi-dominated bonds in China.

Germany is the first European country to show support for the Belt and Road Initiative according to Wang Weidong, commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Germany. Among the 57 founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), it injects the second largest amount of capital into the bank, only after China.

Wang said, "The Belt and Road Initiative provides broad space for China and Germany to deepen their cooperation."