Banks urged to readjust lending

BEIJING - As the country begins to phase out obsolete production methods in an economic restructuring drive, industries with overcapacity are likely to face even tougher financing terms this year.

In response to the government call to curb excessive capacity, the banking regulator earlier this year asked lenders to maintain strict controls on loans flowing into industries including steel, cement, plate glass, shipbuilding, electrolytic aluminum, the chemical processing of coal and polysilicon.

Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said that commercial lenders should readjust their credit structures to support the country's industrial upgrading and restructuring drive.