Range of policies to reduce financing costs

A combination of monetary, fiscal and regulatory policies will be implemented to reduce financing costs in the real economy and ensure the aggregate financing cost of loans for small and micro-sized enterprises is reduced by 1 percent.

They are among measures China will take to reduce real interest rates and ease the financing difficulties faced by businesses, according to a statement released after a State Council executive meeting on Aug 16.

Efforts made this year have kept real interest rates stable, with a slight decline, the statement said, noting that reform measures should be taken to keep liquidity reasonably sufficient and lower real interest rates.

It said efforts will be made to reform and improve the loan prime-rate mechanism. An LPR for above five years will be made available in addition to the current one-year LPR to serve as a pricing reference for new bank lending and act as a catalyst for further reductions in real interest rates.

The meeting decided that interest rates and borrowing costs should be more open and transparent. It said charges levied by financial institutions should be strictly regulated and the fees charged by intermediate agencies reduced.

Credit support for creditworthy enterprises that have received orders and have a market should be strengthened to ensure their loans will not be reduced or cut in an unreasonable way, the statement said.

The meeting also required efforts to solve the financing difficulties facing small and micro-sized enterprises.

To that end, evaluation and supervision will be strengthened to guide banks in innovating business models and improving business procedures, to better serve the real economy, the statement said.

Team to resolve migrant worker pay delays

The State Council has decided to establish a leading team to work on resolving delayed wage payments for migrant workers, according to a notice released by the General Office of the State Council on Aug 15.

The notice, issued to governments and departments at all levels, said the move was an effort to strengthen leadership and overall coordination of work to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the vast numbers of migrant workers.

As a deliberation and coordination agency of the State Council, the team will be responsible for major decision-making and policy implementation regarding work related to resolving delayed wage payments for migrant workers.

It will also play a role in work coordination, policy research and supervision of the implementation of laws, regulations and policies regarding the payment of wages to migrant workers.

Led by Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua, the team will be composed of six deputy directors and members from State Council departments and bureaus.

The office of the team will be located at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, which will be responsible for the team's routine work.

The working meetings of the team will be convened from time to time, according to need.