China to Increase Currency and Loan Supply

China plans to increase its currency supply by 17 percent in 2009, 3 or 4 percentage points more than the combined GDP and price rise, the State Council, or the cabinet, said in an on-line statement in Beijing on Saturday.
 

At the same time, the State Council decides to increase 100 billion yuan ($14.61 billion) of loans this year for the country's policy banks, and encourage commercial banks to provide loans for projects with central investment to make it possible that the total loans of financial institutions would increase more than 4 trillion yuan in 2008.

"We must strengthen the role of the financial sector in supporting economic growth by better implementing an active fiscal policy and moderately easing monetary policy," the statement said.
 

Other efforts to ensure a stable increase of currency and loan supply include suspending three-year central bank note and cutting issues of both one-year and three-month bank note.
 

The State Council also stressed the importance of increasing more room for lowering lending rate and enhancing the flexibility of foreign exchange rate.