BEIJING (Reuters) -China will deploy policy-based financial tools to the value of 500 billion yuan ($70.25 billion) to accelerate investment projects, the state’s planner said on Monday, as part of efforts to support the slowing economy.
Authorities are using the new financing tools to boost financial services and effective investment, Li Chao, a spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission, said.
“We are working with relevant parties to promptly allocate funds from these new policy-based financial instruments to specific projects,” Li told a media briefing.
“The total scale of these new policy-based financial instruments is 500 billion yuan, all of which will be used to supplement project capital.”
The state commission will urge local authorities to speed up project starts and construction, boost effective investment, and support stable economic growth, Li said.
China’s economic activity slumped in August. Factory output and retail sales had their weakest growth since last year, keeping the pressure on Beijing to roll out more stimulus to try to revive the world’s second-largest economy.
Fixed-asset investment also grew at a slower-than-expected 0.5% pace in the first eight months year-on-year, from 1.6% in January-to-July, marking its worst performance since the height of the pandemic.
($1 = 7.1177 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen, Ryan Woo and Kevin Yao; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Barbara Lewis)
