China's banking watchdog yesterday halted all loans made to fixed-asset investment projects not approved by the government as authorities implement another round of curbs to cool the overheated economy.
The loan ban also includes projects which contravene government regulations, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said on its Web site.
"Banks must take proper measures to ensure repayment of the loans," the regulator said, adding they must try to minimize potential losses if they can secure immediate repayment.
The CBRC has also launched a probe into all loans for fixed-asset investment deals awarded before March this year and requiring capital of more than 30 million yuan (US$3.6 million).
In focus are loans to the aluminum and cement sectors, government buildings, expressway construction, golf courses, exhibition centers and logistics parks, it said.
The commission has also asked foreign banks to provide detailed information on clients that have obtained credit lines of over 100 million yuan as part of aims to make sure companies do not flout the rules.
Meanwhile, loans extended not only by the big commercial banks but also state development banks, city and rural commercial banks, credit cooperatives and even trust and investment companies will be under review.
The CBRC's statement comes after nearly a year of government measures meant to engineer a slowdown in the world's fastest expanding economy as fixed-asset investment has continued to soar, rising 42.8 percent in the first four months of this year.
Only two weeks ago authorities ordered that steel, non-ferrous metals, machinery, construction materials, petrochemicals, light industry, textiles, pharmaceuticals and publishing would all see new funds cut off.
At the same time the regulator has ordered senior executives of the country's 11 joint-stock banks to ensure they avoid lending to overinvested sectors and unauthorized projects.
The heads of the 11 banks were told to undertake "enhanced study of industrial development guidelines and lending policies to tighten loan risk management," a CBRC statement said.
China's joint-stock banks are not as experienced as state commercial banks in executing government macroeconomic policies and their research on state industrial development guidelines as well as lending instructions is insufficient, said Tang Shuangning, a vice-chairman of the commission.
"Blind growth in lending and irrational pursuit of market share still exist. Joint-stock banks must further tighten control over loan risk management," Tang said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS