BEIJING: New bank lending in China rose 22.3 per cent in June as authorities continued to boost credit and ease policy to get the world’s second-largest economy humming again after a sharp coronavirus-induced contraction.

Chinese banks extended 1.81 trillion yuan ($258.29bn)in new yuan loans in June, up from 1.48tr yuan in May and slightly exceeding analysts’ expectations, according to data released by the People’s Bank of China on Friday.

That pushed bank lending in the first half of this year to a record 12.09tr yuan ($1.72tr), beating a previous peak of 9.67tr yuan.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2020