The People's Bank of China, the central bank, said on February 23 it will provide 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) of new loans to financial institutions in eight provinces severely hit by drought.
The eight provinces include Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shaanxi and Gansu, where a severe drought has persisted since last October.
The central bank said that it would guide financial institutions in drought-hit regions to provide loans to farmers to buy agricultural materials like seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, and to improve infrastructure in rural areas. |