China pledges stronger financial support for private economy

Chinese authorities rolled out a raft of measures to further elevate financial services for private companies on Monday, as part of the efforts to spur growth.

China will pump more financial resources into micro, small and medium-sized private enterprises, as well as those engaged in tech-intensive industries, green and low carbon sectors, among other key areas, according to a circular jointly unveiled by eight state agencies led by the People's Bank of China.

Banking and financial institutions are asked to set annual targets for services to private businesses, raise the weight of businesses serving private enterprises in the institutions' performance appraisal and gradually increase the proportion of loans provided to private enterprises, the notice said.

The document also stressed the facilitation of access to varied financing channels including credit, bonds and stock options. It urged efforts to ramp up credit support for first-time loan applicants, expand the bond financing scale of private enterprises, encourage institutional investors to include private firms' corporate bonds in their portfolios, and support private firms in stock market listings, mergers and acquisitions.

Additionally, a mix of monetary policy tools, fiscal incentives and insurance backstops will be used to mobilize financial institutions' willingness to serve private firms.

The measures come after China issued a guideline on boosting the growth of the private economy in July, with authorities vowing to improve the business environment, enhance policy support and strengthen the legal guarantee. The need to further boost the development of private businesses was also highlighted at the recent central financial work conference.

(With input from Xinhua）