Banks band together to aid cultural and tourism sector

Shanghai's cultural and tourism administration and five leading banks in the city on June 16 announced the introduction of a series of new financial policies to help the cultural and tourism sector recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Shanghai branches of Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, as well as Bank of Shanghai and Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank have pledged to grant a credit line up to 50 billion yuan ($7.45 billion) to be used to aid the recovery and development of cultural and tourism industries.

"These industries have been severely affected since 2020, when the pandemic first broke out. The current wave of the outbreak has caused damages beyond expectation. We believe we can help the culture and tourism industries achieve a rapid recovery and new development," said Fang Shizhong, head of the municipal administration of culture and tourism.