BEIJING — The Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC), an agricultural policy bank, has issued loans and extended or adjusted loan repayment window to help companies, especially smaller ones, counter the impact from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic, the bank said on March 15.

The ADBC has provided 137 billion yuan (about $19.6 billion) worth of loans by March 14 to help 2,650 companies resume production, among which 78 percent were small and micro enterprises, Lin Li, vice-president of the ADBC, told a press conference.

The bank deferred loan repayment for 252 small and micro companies, adjusted repayment plans for 489 others, and renewed 6.27 billion yuan of loans.

It also provided 53.5 billion yuan of emergency loans by March 14 for companies involved in the fight against COVID-19, said Lin.

To help ease the pork price uptick amid the epidemic, the ADBC issued 10 billion yuan worth of loans so far this year in support of hog production, pushing the sector's loan balance up 39 percent year-on-year.

Official data showed that China's banking sector has provided credit support of over 1.4 trillion yuan to facilitate the resumption of production disrupted by the novel coronavirus epidemic.