Briefly

Telecom sector sees steady growth in H1

China's telecommunications industry reported steady growth during the first six months of this year, official data showed. The combined revenue of the sector reached 692.7 billion yuan ($99.1 billion) during the period, up 3.2 percent on a yearly basis, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Revenue from fixed-line communications of China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom stood at 236.3 billion yuan during the period, up 12 percent on a yearly basis.

Outstanding loans of microcredit firms fall

Outstanding loans extended by China's microcredit companies stood at 884.1 billion yuan ($126.4 billion) by the end of June, according to central bank data. The figure was down by 24.9 billion yuan from the beginning of the year. By the end of last month, the number of microcredit companies in China stood at 7,333, the People's Bank of China said in an online statement. Micro-lenders largely target small companies and low-income groups in need of capital. In recent years, China has tightened regulations for the sector to rein in financial risks.

Xinhua