HONG KONG  - Chinese oil and gas company United Energy Group Ltd said on Thursday that it could tap a $5 billion credit facility with state-owned China Development Bank Corp to fund a wind farm in Pakistan and has been approached by mainland companies looking to co-invest in the project.

The company was also considering selling shares or issuing bonds to fund the proposed $3 billion project, which was at a preliminary stage, and investment would take place over a number of years, a company spokeswoman said.
United Energy, controlled by Chinese tycoon Zhang Hongwei, signed a loan facility with China Development Bank in December 2010, giving it access to $5 billion in cash and highlighting the bank’s push to fund overseas expansion by mainland companies.
United Energy obtained approval early this month from the Pakistan government to construct a 500-megawatt wind power project. Such capacity usually requires an investment of about $1 billion, although the company has not disclosed the final capacity of the project.