China's new loans likely to surge in January: report

BEIJING -- China's new yuan loans will likely surge to a new high in January due to robust long-term credit demand from businesses, a report said.

Beijing-based investment bank China International Capital Corporation (CICC) predicted the loans would rise to 2.7 trillion yuan ($430 billion) last month in its research note, up from 2.03 trillion yuan a year ago.

CICC attributed the increase to long-term credit demand from businesses and organizations, saying corporate loans, if taking into account both long- and short-term lending, will account for over 60 percent of the total.

Meanwhile, mortgage loans will increase to surpass 350 billion yuan.

China's new yuan-denominated lending in December stood at 584.4 billion yuan, falling short of expectations and marking the lowest since April 2016.

CICC also expects total social financing to drop due to tightened regulation of off-balance-sheet business including entrust loans, and M2 growth to remain flat month on month.