China pledges more efforts to finance real economy

BEIJING - A Chinese financial regulator has vowed stronger credit support for the real economy.

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) has encouraged banks and other financial institutions to work more vigorously to meet the financing demand of the real economy, in particular, cash-starved private and small firms, agriculture and rural regions, and lagging economic areas including infrastructure.

This came as the latest move of a government campaign to tackle corporate financing difficulties and prompt the financial sector to better serve the real economy.

China's new yuan loans stood at 1.45 trillion yuan ($211 billion) in July, up 627.8 billion yuan from a year ago, data from the central bank showed.

Loans to infrastructure and small firms contributed half of the total last month, a sign that the targeted credit policy has started to take effect, Wu Wen with Bank of Communications said, predicting regulators will channel more energy into the area.

Banks have been instructed to continue credit support for companies that have good records and qualifications but face temporary capital strain, as worries emerged that lenders may ask companies to pay off loans early or stop lending agreements.

The CBIRC said in a statement that banks should raise the proportion of medium- and long-term loans and set reasonable lending terms and repayment schedules to avoid the cash crunch for borrowers.

More capital will also be channeled to consumer finance and import and export enterprises, according to the statement.

The measures will let consumption play a bigger role in propelling the economy and help companies deal with the impacts from changes in foreign trade, said Dong Ximiao with Renmin University's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies.