Chinese banks lend $14 billion to farm areas for snowstorm recovery

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING - Chinese banks have lent more than $14.4 billion to help rebuild areas battered by winter storms, China's news agency reported Thursday.

The loans are aimed at restoring farms, transportation, power, phone service and other industries across China's south, Xinhua News Agency said, citing information from government regulators.

The snowstorms that began in January killed at least 107 people and wrecked crops, killed 69 million farm animals, ripped down power lines and destroyed thousands of homes, the government said. It has reported total damage at $15.6 billion.

Chinese regulators are trying to restrain a boom in credit but eased loan curbs in storm-hit areas and ordered banks to lend more to help farmers and businesses recover. The central bank launched a disaster fund to help finance such lending.

China's "big four" top state-owned banks account for $8.3 billion of the disaster loans, Xinhua said. It gave no other details on where the loans were made or who received them.

As of Tuesday evening, 92.4 per cent of storm-damaged power lines and more than 97 per cent of transformer substations had been restored to operation, Xinhua reported.

© The Canadian Press, 2008