Cuba and China strengthened their political and economic alliance Sunday by signing 10 new cooperation agreements that will provide Havana with much needed financial support to implement its plan of economic reforms.

The accords were signed in the presence of Cuban President Raul Castro and Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.

The agreements "reflect the political will of both parties and governments to continue deepening their ties," an official Cuban announcement said.

The agreements call for a new line of credit for Cuba and the restructuring of two others. They also include a donation and a loan that will be used to modernized the Cuban public health system.

However, reports by Cuban official media did not disclose the amounts of money involved.

China will also help Cuba modernize an oil refinery in the southeastern city of Cienfuegos, build a new liquid gas plant and improve the city port.

Xi arrived in Havana from Italy on Saturday on the first leg of a Latin America tour that will also take him to Uruguay and Chile.

During their meeting, Xi and Castro noted "an excellent state of bilateral relations and exchanged their views on the situation around the world," according to the Cuban announcement.

Xi was the first Chinese leader to visit Cuba after a Communist Party congress in April approved a package of more than 300 reforms aimed at making Cuba's centralized economy more efficient.

The Chinese vice president said after his arrival that the Cuban party congress had "determined the course of the country's future development" and laid the foundation of "future successes in the process of building socialism" on the island.

According to China's Xinhua news agency, Xi also said that the China-Cuba friendship meets the common aspiration of the two peoples, adding that the two countries were determined to expand their consensus, enhance friendship and deepen cooperation for common development.

earlier related report
Prada to raise up to $2.6 bln in Hong Kong IPO
Hong Kong (AFP) June 6, 2011 - Italian luxury fashion house Prada is set to raise as much as $2.6 billion after setting the price range for its highly anticipated offering in Hong Kong on June 24, a report said Monday.

The Milan-based company plans to sell 423.28 million shares at an indicative price range of HK$36.50-HK$48.0 ($4.70-6.20) each, Dow Jones Newswires reported, quoting an unnamed source familiar with the deal.

The IPO would raise $2 billion to $2.6 billion based on the range. The firm has an option to sell an additional 63.49 million shares if the shares are oversubscribed, according to Dow Jones.

Prada's spokeswoman in Hong Kong could not be reached for comment by AFP.

The company set its IPO price range as it began meeting with Asian investors and started bookbuilding for institutional investors Monday to gauge their appetite for the deal. It will launch the Hong Kong offering on June 14.

The fashion house, which includes the Prada, Miu Miu, Church's and Car Shoe brands and is 95 percent owned by the Prada family and executives, is the latest high-end fashion brand to tap the huge Chinese market.

Listings from high-end retailers such as US handbag maker Coach and luggage maker Samsonite are a sign of Asia's growing appetite for designer goods, especially among cash-rich Chinese mainlanders.

China is the world's fastest-growing market for luxury goods.

It is forecast to be the world's top buyer of products such as cosmetics, handbags, watches, shoes and clothes by 2015, according to consultancy PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Prada plans to use proceeds from the Hong Kong IPO to expand it sales network, increase floor space, repay bank loans and supplement working capital.

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