Shanghai has seen lending to the manufacturing sector and small businesses surge since the start of 2022, amidst a push from regulators to step up credit extension amidst the economic uncertainty created renewed rounds of Covid lockdown measures.
As of the end of September, Shanghai’s domestic and foreign currency loan balance stood at 10.25 trillion yuan, for year-on-year (YoY) growth of 10.1%, according to figures released by the Shanghai branch of the Chinese central bank on 8 November.
This lending included an 11.5% rise in the renminbi loan balance to 9.52 trillion yuan.
Shanghai’s manufacturing sector loan balance stood at 943.1 billion yuan at the end of September, for a YoY rise of 29.5%. The balance of loans to high-tech enterprises, small and medium-sized tech enterprises and “new special elite” enterprises rose 25.5%, 42.0% and 32.3% respectively compared to the same period last year.
The micro-and-small financial inclusion loan balance in Shanghai stood at 839.6 billion yuan at the end of September, for YoY growth of 25.8%. Interest rates for financial inclusion loans fell 23 basis points in September compared to the same period last year to hit a historic low.
In the first three quarters of the year total social financing in Shanghai was 951.2 billion yuan, 29.056 billion yuan ahead of the figure for the same period last year, with renminbi loans comprising the mainstay of growth.
