BEIJING, June 30 -- China's central bank announced on Friday that it has decided to increase the relending and rediscount quota for the agriculture sector and small enterprises as part of efforts to reduce the cost of financing and expand employment.

The relending and rediscount quota expanded by 200 billion yuan (about 27.68 billion U.S. dollars), according to the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

The PBOC has given full play to the structural monetary policy tools in recent years. As of the first quarter of this year, the outstanding relending loans and balance of rediscount nationwide totaled 2.6 trillion yuan.