Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In December 2009, China Development Bank Corporation (CDB) entered into a RMB 10 billion ($1.58 billion USD) line of credit loan agreement with BGI-Shenzhen Co., Ltd. — a China-incorporated privately-owned biomedical science company based in Shenzhen, China (formerly known as Beijing Genomics Institute) — to support the development of its research and application platforms for growth in healthcare, agriculture, bio-energy, environmental protection, and related fields. Then, in 2010, CDB issued a RMB 600 million ($89 million USD) loan under this credit line to BGI-Shenzhen Co., Ltd. to facilitate its acquisition of 128 DNA sequencing machines from American biotechnology company Illumina, Inc. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to finance its purchase of the then-newly-released 128 Illumina HiSeq(TM) 2000 Sequencing Systems from Illumina for $500,000 USD each. The machines could produce 25 billion base pairs of sequence in a day (if all were running at full tilt, BGI could in theory sequence over 10,000 human genomes annually). 100 of which were to be installed in BGI's new genome facility in Hong Kong (BGI also had research centers in the United States, Europe, and mainland China). BGI made the order, the single largest order to date for this technology, on January 12, 2010, with hopes it would allow BGI to the become the world’s largest sequencing facility (and putting the company on track to surpass the entire sequencing output of the United States). Installations of the systems was to begin in the first quarter of 2010 and continue over the next three quarters of 2010. The purchase, announced on January 12, 2010, caused controversy among other genomics centers, which accused Illumina of making a secret deal with BGI while only giving them access to older models; Illumina denied the allegations. The purchase was eventually completed.