SHANGHAI, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai has offered comprehensive financial support for work resumption amid the COVID-19 epidemic, local authorities said at a press conference Monday.
The People's Bank of China Shanghai Head Office has issued 4,625 rediscounts worth 14.8 billion yuan (around 2.1 billion U.S. dollars) to 19 local financial institutions to encourage financing support for small-and micro-businesses' work resumption, according to Sun Hui, deputy director of the office.
As of March 29, 17 Shanghai-headquartered banks have issued 725 loans for small and micro enterprises and agriculture-related businesses, involving 2.2 billion yuan at preferential interest rates.
As 98 percent of banks and insurance companies have resumed operations, financial institutions have issued loans for epidemic control to over 4,500 companies involving 65.7 billion yuan as of March 15, according to the Shanghai Office of China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC).
As of March 15, local banks have waived a total amount of 17.8 million yuan worth of interest for 1,808 epidemic-hit companies and delayed loan payment worth a total of 52.8 billion yuan for 2.7 million individuals affected, said Li Hu, an inspector with the CBIRC's Shanghai office.
Almost all 310 Shanghai-based listed companies have resumed business, according to the Shanghai Securities Regulatory Bureau.
A single purchase
