Growth of China's real estate loan slows in first half

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BEIJING, Aug 17 (Xinhua): Chinese bankers held loans totaling 5.2 trillion yuan (about 580 billion US dollars) to real estate developers and housing buyers by the end of June, up 22.5 per cent year-on-year, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) said Friday.

The central bank said the growth rate was two percentage points lower than the same period last year, representing a decline for seven consecutive months since last December.

Loans to real estate development stood at 1.9 trillion yuan by June, up 17.7 per cent year on year. The growth rate was eight percentage points lower than the same period last year.