AsianFin -- Chinese financial institutions have drawn 60 billion yuan ($8.4 billion) from a 500 billion yuan central bank relending facility set up in May to support consumption in the service and elderly care sectors, the head of credit markets at the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said.

The loans extended through the facility so far cover nearly 4,000 businesses and more than 5,700 projects, Yang Hongsaid at a press conference Thursday.

The PBOC provides low-cost funding to banks and other qualified lenders via the facility, but only if the funds are directed to priority sectors. The program aims to channel credit into areas such as hotels, restaurants, culture and tourism, education, and eldercare.

A separate relending facility for technological innovation and transformation, established in April 2024, has expanded to 800 billion yuan ($112.5 billion) and supported nearly 100 equipment upgrade projects in the service sector in the first half of the year, with loans totaling 11.9 billion yuan.