BEIJING: China loaned $22 billion to Latin America during last few years to help buoyant struggling economies that have been hit hard by a fall in prices for oil, minerals and other commodities that they export.
That annual loan total is the second highest in a decade, behind only 2010, and surpassed combined loans to the region from multilateral lenders the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, the data show.
China loaned $8.6 billion to Brazil, $7 billion to Argentina, $5.7 billion to Venezuela and $821 million to Ecuador in 2014. Despite its slowing economy, China has emerged as a lender of last resort for Latin America countries that had ridden a decade-long boom in Chinese demand for commodities but are now seeing budget deficits grow and currencies slip as Chinese appetite slackens.
