China to extend low-carbon lending tool to end of 2027

BEIJING, Aug 11 (Reuters): China's central bank will extend a programme providing financial institutions with low-cost loans intended to help companies to cut carbon emissions, the government said on Sunday.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) will extend the policy to support carbon-reduction projects by companies to the end of 2027, China's state council said.

The PBOC financing scheme was launched in 2021. The financing window gives banks up to 60 per cent of the principal for qualified loans at a one-year lending rate of 1.75 per cent.

In a sweeping statement of policy goals that was short on specific implementation plans, China also promised to develop tax and investment policies that would support what Beijing calls a "green transformation" of the world's second-largest economy.

The plan included commitments to promote battery-powered vehicles, energy and water-saving home appliances and the use of more environmentally friendly building materials.