Yicai:

What was the total amount of credit extended and its allocation in the first quarter of this year? What are the expected changes in credit allocation and distribution in the coming months? Thank you. 

Zhang Wenhong:

Thank you for your questions. The total credit amount and credit allocation are closely watched by all. Mr. Zhu provided an update on data regarding total loan volume in his opening remarks. The total loan volume data across different sectors in the first quarter reveals that the total loan volume has maintained steady and rapid growth. At the end of March, the outstanding balance of yuan-denominated loans held by financial institutions was 247.05 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.6% year on year. In the first quarter, yuan-dominated loans rose by 9.5 trillion yuan, with the new loan additions lower than the same period last year. This is attributed to the high base from the previous year. From a longer-term perspective, the new loan additions in the first quarter of this year outpaced the same period in 2022 by a significant margin of 1.13 trillion yuan. Data shows that financial system's credit support for the real economy has maintained a high level.

In terms of borrowers, loans issued to enterprises and public institutions constitutes the primary source of credit growth. In the first quarter, loans extended to enterprises and public institutions increased by 7.77 trillion yuan, with medium- and long-term loans growing by 6.2 trillion yuan. This trend underscores the financial system's sustained and stable funding support for the real economy. In the same period, household loans grew by 1.33 trillion yuan, which was primarily driven by a 1.29-trillion-yuan increase in business loans.

Speaking of sectoral distribution, new loans were primarily issued to key sectors such as manufacturing, infrastructure and the service industry. The growth rate of loans issued to the real estate sector showed an upward trend. The structure of sectoral distribution of loans is undergoing continuous optimization. The specific details are as follows: 

First, medium- and long-term loans issued to the manufacturing sector continued to grow at a relatively high rate. At the end of March, the volume of medium- and long-term loans issued to the manufacturing industry grew by 26.5%, surpassing the overall growth rate of such loans across all industries by 12.2 percentage points. Notably, medium- and long-term loans to high-tech manufacturing companies increased by 27.3%, marking a 0.8 percentage point rise from the previous month.

Second, medium- and long-term loans issued to the infrastructure industry witnessed a steady growth. At the end of March, the volume of medium- and long-term loans issued to the infrastructure industry increased by 13.4%, with its total amount surging by 1.97 trillion yuan in the first quarter.

Third, a comparatively higher increase was recorded in medium- and long-term lending to the service industry, excluding the real estate sector. This type of lending grew by 13.1% at the end of March, and increased by 2.87 trillion yuan cumulatively in the first quarter, accounting for half of the increase in medium- and long-term lending to all industries. 

Fourth, the growth rate of medium- and long-term loans to the property industry increased. At the end of March, medium- and long-term loans to the real estate sector rose by 4.9%, 0.6 percentage point higher than that at the end of last year. In the first quarter, this type of loans increased by 672.7 billion yuan, with the amount of newly added loans higher than that of the same period last year. 

Going forward, the PBC will follow the arrangements made at the central financial work conference. We will maintain the reasonable and steady growth of credit, continue optimizing the credit structure, focus on improving efficiency, and advance high-quality financial services for key fields and weak links. Thank you.