Alibaba-backed MYbank's 1.7 million hand-outs

Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group, speaks during the opening ceremony of MYbank in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, June 25, 2015. [Photo/VCG]

MYbank, the internet-bank backed by e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group, said on Wednesday it had offered loans to 1.7 million small and micro businesses during its first year of operation.

According to a statement released by the Hangzhou-based MYbank, it has a balance of loans of 23 billion yuan（$3.46 billion) so far.

As one of the first private banks in China, MYbank, which started its operation on June 25 last year, has been focusing on providing financial services to small and micro businesses, young entrepreneurs and those in rural China.

MYbank announced last year it would provide a special loan worth 1 billion yuan every year for the next three years to encourage college graduates to innovate and start up their own businesses.

In China's rural areas, it has provided a service called Wangnongdai, offering small loans to business owners. The service has covered 4,852 villages across China's 25 provinces.