Jin Zhongxia, director of the International Department of the People's Bank of China, introduced on April 23 that the People's Bank of China has taken many measures to provide financial support and stabilise foreign trade. First of all, the measures we have taken are to reduce the financing cost of the real economy.
In 2022, the weighted average interest rate of corporate loans in China dropped by 34 basis points year-on-year to only 4.17%, which is a relatively low level in history. Second, we guide financial institutions to increase support for small and micro enterprises and private foreign trade enterprises.
As of the end of 2022, the balance of inclusive small and micro loans will increase by 24% year-on-year, reaching 24 trillion yuan. Third, we guide financial institutions to provide exchange rate risk management services for foreign trade enterprises, and reduce or exempt foreign exchange transaction fees related to banks serving small, medium and micro enterprises. In the whole of last year, the hedging ratio of enterprises increased by 2.4 percentage points compared with the previous year, reaching 24%.
The ability of small and medium enterprises to avoid the risk of exchange rate fluctuations has been further improved. Fourth, we have continued to optimise the RMB settlement environment for cross-border trade and improve the level of cross-border trade facilitation. Last year, the scale of cross-border RMB settlement in goods trade increased by 37% year-on-year, accounting for 19%, an increase of 2.2 percentage points from 2021.
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