RIO DE JANEIRO -(Dow Jones)- Brazil's state-owned development bank BNDES may now make loans to mining company Vale SA (VALE, VALE5.BR) of a value greater than 25% of the bank's reference assets, Brazil's National Monetary Council CMN said late Thursday. Permission has been given for greater loans than previously to the country's biggest mining company because it is considered to operate in a strategic area, CMN said in a statement. The new rule freeing up lending to Vale will be applicable to July 2015, it said. Oil and gas producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, and electrical utility Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA (ELET6.BR), or Eletrobras, already benefit from the rule which allows them to receive funding from BNDES at a level over 25% of the bank's reference assets value because they are considered strategic companies. Thursday's resolution extends this benefit for Petrobras and Eletrobras until July 2015, CMN said. -By Diana Kinch, Dow Jones Newswires; 55 21 7564 4495; Diana.Kinch@dowjones.com
