The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) has received a $700m (EGP 5.5b) loan from the China Development Bank to finance infrastructure projects in different sectors, Ahram Online reported.

The loan will be invested in the energy, agriculture, and telecom sectors. The amount will be paid back over eight years, with a three-year grace period, the NBE stated.

In its efforts to support small-and medium-size enterprises, the bank seeks to raise its funding portfolio to reach EGP 65b by 2020, up from EGP 19b in 2015.

Previously, Egypt had signed investment and aid deals worth billions of dollars with China during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Cairo in January, Reuters wrote.