In Brief: B of A Commercial Paper Plan for Chinese Firm

BankAmerica Corp. has arranged a $200 million U.S. commercial paper program for China's state-owned metals and minerals export company.

The program combines two previous commercial paper programs separately arranged in 1996 and 1997 for Minmetals Capitals and Securities Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of China National Metals and Minerals Import and Export Corp.

BankAmerica has issued a letter of credit to support the commercial paper program, which is rated A1-plus/prime 1 by Standard & Poor's Ratings Group and Moody's Investors Service Inc., respectively.

BankAmerica has been steadily building a business arranging U.S. commercial paper programs for Latin American and Asian companies. Minmetals will use the proceeds from the commercial paper program to finance international trade business activities.

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