HONG KONG (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) March 10, 1999--Standard and Poor's today assigned its triple-'B'-plus long-term and 'A-2' short term foreign currency counterparty ratings to the Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank). The rating outlook is negative. The ratings on China Eximbank, which are identical to those of the People's Republic of China (PRC), reflect its public policy role in promoting export financing. In addition, China Eximbank also acts as a conduit for foreign official funding for projects within China as well as for Chinese government concessional lending to other countries. The bank is wholly owned by the central government and its funding and lending operations are conducted in close co-ordination with the People's Bank of China (PBC), the country's
