Workers from a local bank talk with loan applicants via a "green channel" set up for small and micro businesses in Linyi city, Shandong province, Sept 22, 2014. [Photo / IC]

BEIJING -- The outstanding loans extended to small and micro businesses in China rose by 3.08 trillion yuan ($500 billion) from the start of 2014 to hit 20.7 trillion yuan by the year end, China Banking Regulatory Commission said on Friday.

The loans to small and micro businesses accounted for 23.85 percent of the country's total loans, according to the statement, adding that the growth rate of such loans exceeded the average rate of all loans nationwide by 4.2 percentage points.

The loans were shared among 11.446 million small and micro firms, up 9 percent from the same period in 2013.

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China boosts financial support to small firms, agriculture, By Xinhua

China's central bank has raised its re-lending quota by 50 billion yuan ($8.17 billion) to boost financial support for small and micro-businesses and agriculture.

Re-lending is a monetary tool used by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, to increase financial institutions' liquidity and guide credit flows.

They will require funds from the quota be credited to small and micro-businesses, as well as the agricultural sector, rural areas and farmers, PBOC said in a statement on Friday.

A record 267.8 billion yuan accumulated in the re-lending quota at the end of 2014, up 99.4 billion yuan from the beginning of 2014, and 52.4 billion yuan has gone to small and micro-businesses and 215.4 billion yuan to agriculture.

The re-lending tool has played a constructive role in increasing the availability of credit for small and micro-businesses and agriculture, according to a statement from the bank.

China's central bank said at a meeting on its work in 2015 that it will "continue with its prudent monetary policies in 2015 with better coordination of tight and loose monetary measures and proper fine-tuning."