China says to offer $10b in loans to SCO member states

BEIJING: Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Thursday that Beijing will offer $10 billion in loans to the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.    

The SCO, founded in 2001, includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran, India, Pakistan and others attend the summits, but not as full members.

"China has decided to give to the other member states $10 billion in loans," Hu said in a speech broadcast on state television. He did not elaborate on how the funds would be used.

At an SCO summit in June 2009, Hu offered Central Asian states $10 billion of credit to help counter the global economic slump. Hu said previously that China would "continue providing member states with concessional loans".

It is unclear how much money from that past commitment was dispersed.