Jan. 30, 2007 (China Knowledge) – Businessmen from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) states, which include U.A.E. and Qatar, are mulling setting up a bank in China with the Chinese government, reported Qatari newspaper The Peninsula.

According to the report, the bank is expected to have a capital of US$3 billion and will serve 13 Chinese provinces with a special emphasis on China's western regions. The report also said proposals for the bank include investments in Muslim-populated regions of China.

 

In addition, the report quoted Sayed Al Talib, Secretary-General of the Council for Development of Relations between China and the Arab World, as saying a second US$2 billion project to set up an Arab city in China is also a possibility.

The city, which would be the first Arab-style city in China, would feature mosques, five-star hotels, restaurants offering Arab specialties and a center for Arab and Islamic culture.