BEIJING, April 7 -- China's central bank on Sunday said it had established a special relending facility worth 500 billion yuan (about 70.47 billion U.S. dollars) to support sci-tech innovation, technical transformation and equipment renewal.

The interest rate of the one-year facility stands at 1.75 percent. It can be extended twice, with a one-year term each, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement.

The facility aims to guide financial institutions to step up credit support for sci-tech-oriented small and medium-sized firms in their early stage of development or in growth stage, and for technical transformation and equipment renewal projects to help key sectors become more digitalized, smart, advanced, and green, according to the PBOC.

The PBOC will provide low-cost funds for 21 financial institutions, including China Development Bank, Postal Savings Bank of China, and some policy banks, state-owned commercial banks, and joint-stock commercial banks.

For eligible loans issued by these institutions, the PBOC will provide reloans equivalent to 60 percent of the loan principal.