BEIJING — Outstanding loans extended by China’s micro-credit companies amounted to 979.9 billion yuan ($153.8 billion) by the end of 2017, data from the central bank showed on Jan 25.

The volume was up 50.4 billion yuan from the end of 2016.

By the end of last year, the number of micro-credit companies in China came in at 8,551, the People’s Bank of China said in an online statement.

Micro-lenders largely target small companies and low-income groups in need of capital. In recent years, microlending companies have become an important channel for medium- and small-sized firms as well as individuals to access funds.

The central bank report showed East China’s Jiangsu province had 630 small-credit companies by 2017, the most of any provincial-level region, followed by Liaoning province and Jilin province.