China's Bohai Bank, the first national commercial bank approved by the Chinese government since 1996, granted its first loan this week.

The bank, which started operations in north China's port city of Tianjin last month, will lend 300 million yuan (37.5 million U.S. dollars) to a dock construction project

The loan will be used to support the construction of a coal dock in Tianjin's Nanjiang port area.

The new dock will be operated by Tianjin Shenhua Coal Dock Co., Ltd, and is being built as a joint venture between China Shenhua Energy Company Limited and Tianjin Port Group.

The first national commercial bank headquartered in Tianjin, a manufacturing center about 120 km from Beijing, the Bohai Bank is also the first to have overseas investors on board at the time of its inception.

The Bohai Bank has a registered capital of 5 billion yuan (621.1 million U.S. dollars). Tianjin Taida Investment Holding Co., Ltd. is the largest shareholder of the bank with a 25 percent of the stake. It is followed by the Hong Kong-based Standard Charter with a 19.99 percent stake.

Source: Xinhua