BRICS bank approves first $811 million loans for green energy

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The New Development Bank (NDB), set up by the BRICS group of emerging nations, has approved its first loans – $811 million for renewable energy projects in Brazil, China, India and South Africa, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday. The BRICS bank, with a registered capital of $100 billion, began working last year to finance infrastructure initiatives in emerging markets and in its initial trial lent $300 million to Brazil, $81 million to China, $250 million to India and $180 million to South Africa, the RIA news agency reported. “A number of new projects are in the pipeline, including projects from Russia. They are at various stages of consideration and assessment,” a bank spokesman was quoted as saying by the agency. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Louise Ireland)