Policy bank lends more to agriculture

BEIJING -- The Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC) provided more financial support to China's agriculture and rural development in the first quarter.

The major policy bank poured in 380.5 billion yuan ($58.5 billion) to support agriculture, rural areas and farmers in the first quarter, double the amount in same period last year, it said.

The ADBC loaned 251.57 billion yuan to support infrastructure construction in rural areas, including 26.16 billion yuan for renovation of shanty towns, 49.21 billion yuan for water conservancy projects and 38.37 billion yuan for road construction.

The surge in lending comes amid a government campaign to develop modern agriculture and increase farmers' income.

The bank's yuan-denominated outstanding loans stood at 3.74 trillion yuan at the end of March, up 23.8 percent year on year.