China's central bank put $93 billion into development banks in July
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's central bank stepped up support for the cooling economy last month by injecting $93 billion (59.4 billion pounds) into two leading development banks to strengthen their capital bases and increase financing to critical sectors.
The People's Bank of China said it pumped $48 billion into China Development Bank [CHDB.UL] and $45 billion into the Export-Import Bank of China last month. There had been media reports that the two banks had received new funding.
The cash will lift the capital adequacy ratios of the two lenders to between 11.4 percent and 12.8 percent, the central bank said in response to questions from Reuters.
The money will also support projects such as rebuilding shanty towns and developing the joint economies of Beijing and Tianjin, the city in northern China where blasts in a port warehouse killed more than 100 people last week.
Reuters reported in July that the central bank was adding $48 billion into China Development Bank - a big financier of major infrastructure projects - via a debt-to-equity swap.
A stuttering export sector and softening domestic demand and investment have taken a toll on the economy, which is seen growing around 7 percent this year, an enviable rate by global standards but China's weakest in 25 years.
(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
