China ramps up bank lending to counter slowdown
CHINA: China ramped up bank lending in August, according to central
bank figures released Tuesday, as the government seeks to give a boost
to the slowing economy.
Chinese banks granted 703.9 billion yuan ($112 billion) in new loans
in August, up from 540.1 billion yuan in July, the People's Bank of
China said in a statement. The August figure is higher than market
expectations of 600 billion yuan, according to a forecast of 13
economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. Analysts said the increase
in bank lending reflects China's moves to ease monetary policy with
economic growth at its slowest pace in three years.
“The strong new lending figure is consistent with China's earlier
monetary loosening measures and its speed-up of project approvals,”
Zhang Zhiwei, chief China economist at Nomura Securities, told AFP.
“This shows China is stepping up efforts to ease its policy. This
will help the domestic economy to recover,” he said.
AFP
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