The Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC) said its new medium and long-term loans for the agricultural sector and rural areas development in first eight months topped 119.9 billion yuan (17.6 billion U.S. dollars).

This figure represented an increase of 54.5 billion yuan from a year earlier, according to the ADBC.

The Beijing-based policy financial institution said it had stepped up its efforts on loans lending in past five years to better finance the country's farming sector and rural areas development.