BEIJING, July 23 -- The People's Bank of China on Thursday announced that it will carry out a 500-billion-yuan (about 73.6 billion U.S. dollars) one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) operation on Friday, aiming to maintain ample liquidity in the country's banking system.

The central bank said this MLF operation will be conducted through variable-rate tenders with a fixed quantity, using a multiple-price auction.

With a 400-billion-yuan MLF maturing this month, the move will see a net injection of 100 billion yuan, according to the central bank.