PBOC pledges support for small firms in 2020

Beijing: (Bloomberg) – China’s central bank pledged more financial support for small and micro businesses while saying it plans to stick to a prudent monetary policy stance this year.

The People’s Bank of China will improve the incentive mechanism for lending to such companies, it said in a statement following a two-day work conference in Beijing. Authorities will make it easier for them to gain access to financing through targeted reserve cuts, re-lending and re-discounting, among other policy tools, it said.

China to Support Troubled Financial Firms, Curb Property Risks

The central bank also said it would continue efforts to defuse major risks with a focus on building a long-term regulatory mechanism for internet finance and real estate financing.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, China’s forex regulator, said separately that it would diversify policy tools to counter the impact from external shocks on the country’s trade and investment, international balance of payment and cross-border capital flows.

China’s banking and insurance regulator on Friday vowed to take a series of measures to shore up the nation’s troubled smaller banks and insurers while continuing a clampdown on shadow financing and property speculation.