THE central bank said Saturday it will expand a pilot scheme on relending, the latest effort by the government to help support a slowing economy.

    The scheme, which allows banks to refinance high quality credit assets rated by the central bank, was introduced in Guangdong and Shandong provinces last year. It will be expanded to include nine municipalities and provinces, namely Shanghai, Tianjin, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Beijing and Chongqing.

    The move is expected to cut borrowing costs and guide more funds into agriculture and small enterprises to boost the real economy, said the statement on the website of the People’s Bank of China.

    The government has taken a raft of measures, including cutting interest rates, lowering reserve requirements and extending medium-term lending facilities, to support the economy.

    Activity in China’s vast manufacturing sector contracted for a second straight month in September, an official survey showed early this month.

    The government is due to release third-quarter GDP data Oct. 19 and many economists expect growth to dip below 7 percent, which would be the weakest since the global financial crisis.(SD-Agencies)