Beijing’s Financial Statistics Show Record Increase in Small and Micro Loans in First Half of 2023
People’s Daily Online, Beijing, July 25 (Reporter Bao Congying) The Business Management Department of the People’s Bank of China and the Beijing Foreign Exchange Management Department of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange recently held a press conference to introduce Beijing’s financial statistics for the first half of 2023. The report revealed that the balance of inclusive small and micro loans in Beijing increased by 23.9% year-on-year, reaching a new high since 2022.
The increase in small and micro loans is attributed to the prudent monetary policies implemented by the People’s Bank of China’s business management department. By providing strong financial support for the capital’s economy, these policies have facilitated the continued recovery and high-quality development of Beijing’s economy. In the first half of the year, more than 80 billion yuan of central bank policy funds were issued in the Beijing area, benefiting approximately 22,000 market entities. More than 85% of these funds went to small and micro enterprises and private enterprises, with nearly 50% invested in key areas such as science and technology innovation, green initiatives, and manufacturing.
To further support science and technology innovation and manufacturing enterprises, the construction of the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Innovation Financial Reform Pilot Zone has been promoted. Credit policies have been enhanced, and the bank-enterprise docking system has been improved to create a science and technology innovation financial product supermarket. As a result, the balance of high-tech industry loans in Beijing increased by 20% year-on-year, and the number of borrowers increased by 32% year-on-year. Additionally, the balance of medium and long-term loans in the manufacturing industry increased by 54.4% year-on-year.
Efforts to optimize financial services for private and small and micro enterprises have also been successful. Online and offline bank-enterprise matchmaking activities have been organized regularly to strengthen financing service support. The balance of guaranteed loans for entrepreneurship exceeded 5.07 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 77.4%. The balance of inclusive small and micro loans in Beijing increased by 23.9% year-on-year, reaching a record high since 2022. Similarly, the balance of private economic loans increased by 10.3% year-on-year.
Beijing has also prioritized green, low-carbon, and high-quality development by using monetary policy tools to boost the development of low-carbon environmental protection industries. In the first half of the year, relevant banks in Beijing supported 155 carbon emission reduction projects and coal projects, resulting in an annual carbon emission reduction of 5.2 million tons. The balance of green loans in Beijing’s local and foreign currencies increased by 31.9% year-on-year, and the green bond financing scale of non-financial enterprises reached 51.68 billion yuan, ranking first in the country.
The Business Management Department of the People’s Bank of China has played a crucial role in helping cultural, tourism, sports, and other related industries recover quickly. By organizing bank-enterprise matchmaking and policy presentations, the department has laid the groundwork for further support policy measures to be released in the near future. As a result, the balance of loans for the cultural and tourism industries in Beijing increased by 4% and 37.4% year-on-year respectively.
Consumer finance has been accelerated to support the steady recovery of consumption. Measures such as lowering interest rates, increasing online service supply of personal consumer credit loans, issuing consumption vouchers, and providing diversified financial products and services have been implemented to promote the release of consumption potential. In the first half of the year, the city’s personal short-term consumption loans increased by 58 billion yuan.
The increase in small and micro loans, along with the various efforts to support different sectors, reflects Beijing’s commitment to economic growth and recovery. With these measures in place, the city is poised for continued development in the coming months and years.
(Editors in charge: Bao Congying, Gao Xing)