China to step up countercyclical adjustment amid epidemic: official

BEIJING -- China will boost countercyclical adjustment efforts to keep market liquidity at a reasonably ample level in a bid to keep economic growth stable amid the novel coronavirus epidemic, a central bank official said Friday.

The transmission mechanism for monetary policies will be further improved to reduce firms' funding costs, Pan Gongsheng, deputy head of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), told a press conference.

The loan prime rates, market-based references for lenders to set their loan interest rates, are widely expected to drop in the upcoming monthly release on Feb 20.

The PBOC will continue to make use of structural monetary policy tools like targeted reserve requirement ratio cuts to beef up support for major fields and weak areas in the economy, Pan said.

The central bank has provided relending funds of 300 billion yuan (about $42.98 billions) to national banks and local banks in the worst-hit regions, which will then grant credit support at favorable interest rates to key manufacturers of medical supplies and daily necessities.

The government will roll out more targeted and coordinated steps to help ease the financing difficulty for small and micro firms, Pan said.