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New lending may exceed 5 trillion yuan in 2009

By Diao Ying and Zheng Lifei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-03-10 14:30

China's financial institutions are set to issue more than 5 trillion yuan ($731 billion) in new loans this year, a top central bank official said.

Related readings:  BOC reports strong SME loan growth  Financing tools for large enterprises help banks shift loans to SMEs  Loans to SMEs account for 51.9% in 2008  Lending soars in new year

"The total lending this year will definitely exceed 5 trillion yuan," said Su Ning, a deputy central bank governor, during the annual sessions of the government's parliamentary meeting and the advisory body meeting.

Premier Wen Jiabao said in his government work report that the country is setting a 5 trillion new yuan loan target.

The country's banks issued a record 1.6 trillion new yuan loans in January, according to the People's Bank of China, the central bank.

According to media reports, new yuan loans in February may have been as high as 1.1 trillion yuan.

The central bank is likely to release the figures as early as this week.