Loans of financial institutions in east China's Zhejiang Province rose to 779.1 billion yuan (US$94 billion) at the end of August, an increase of 128 billion yuan (US$15.4 billion) over the start of the year.
The loans mainly went to high efficiency agriculture, private small and medium-sized enterprises, urban infrastructure construction, and individual consumption, according to the provincial bureau of statistics.
Small enterprises received 22.3 percent more loans from the banks during the first eight months of this year. In fact, 83.4 percent of new loans were extended to small enterprises.
The industrial sector of the province consumed 18.3 percent more electricity during the January-August period on the basis of the comparable figure last year. Electricity consumption in the province has been growing at a double-figure rate for several years, bureau statistics show.
(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2002)
