China sees more inclusive finance loans in Q1

BEIJING -- China's inclusive finance registered rapid growth in the first quarter of the year, with RMB loans increasing by 1.03 trillion yuan (about $145.47 billion), according to a report from the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

The new loans marked a year-on-year increment of 313.5 billion yuan in the period. While the outstanding loans climbed 17.7 percent year on year to 18.33 trillion yuan by the end of March, with the growing pace accelerating 0.6 percentage points from the end of 2019, the report said.

Outstanding loans issued to micro and small businesses under inclusive finance services went up 23.6 percent year on year to 12.41 trillion yuan by the end of the first quarter.

Balance of loans to farmers' production rose 6.9 percent to 5.54 trillion yuan by the end of March, while that of venture guarantee loans surged 33.9 percent to 151.6 billion yuan.

Inclusive finance lendings include loans to micro, small and self-employed businesses, farmers' production and people living in poverty, as well as venture guarantee loans and student loans, according to the report.

The PBOC implemented reserve requirement ratio cuts in March amid the country's efforts to boost the real economy, encouraging financial institutions to lend in inclusive finance.