HANOI, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank (WB) signed an agreement on Sunday with the Sate Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to provide a loan of 200 million U.S. dollars to help the country carry out anew five-year rural economic development project, the Vietnam News reported on Monday.

    The project has a total investment capital of over 279 million U.S. dollars, with the rest 79 million U.S. dollars coming from the Vietnamese government, according to the agreement.

    The project will be carried out in almost all localities of Vietnam, excluding four major cities in Vietnam, namely Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, the northern city of Hai Phong and the central cityof Da Nang.

    The aims of the project which begins in December 2008 are to help private companies and households get a better access to financial resources, and increase the capacity of financial institutions in rural areas.

    The project is expected to bring benefits to 90,000 private companies and 20,000 households, and create 150,000 new jobs in Vietnam.