Beijing, September 18 (Xinhua) — In August, the Inclusive Finance Prosperity Index reached 48.4 points, down 0.4 points from July. At present, China's macroeconomy maintains an overall stable and steadily improving development trend; the effects of the "Two Major" and "Two New" policies continue to be released, and financial support for the real economy has intensified with both quality and efficiency rising.

　　By dimension, in August the financing prosperity index was 53.4 points, down 0.3 points from July. The balance of narrow money (M1) stood at 63.02 trillion yuan, down 7.3% year on year, 0.7 percentage points lower than at the end of the previous month, and corporate credit demand has slowed somewhat. The growth rates of both the outstanding social financing scale and the outstanding RMB loans remained above 8%, maintaining steady growth on a high base, and financial support for the real economy remains solid. The credit structure continued to improve. At the end of August, the outstanding loans to technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises, the outstanding loans to "specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative" enterprises, and the outstanding inclusive small and micro loans grew by 21.2%, 14.4% and 16.0% respectively, all higher than the growth rate of all loans in the same period, with credit resources flowing more to major strategies, key areas and weak links.

　　In August, the operating prosperity index was 47.4 points, down 0.5 points from July, as both enterprise production and market demand slowed somewhat. Affected by factors such as increased construction site shutdowns in some areas due to heavy rainfall and other weather conditions, the operating rate and business performance of small and micro enterprises declined somewhat. As policies such as the "Two Major" and "Two New" initiatives are implemented faster and produce results, and the impact of short-term disruptions such as high temperatures and rainy weather gradually fades, market expectations for small and micro enterprises are expected to improve.

　　By industry, the operating prosperity indices of the nine major industries showed a trend of two rising and seven falling, among which wholesale and retail trade and real estate grew.

　　By region, the operating prosperity indices of the seven major regions showed a trend of three rising and four falling. Among them, the indices for Northeast, Southwest and Northwest China rose, reaching 47.1, 46.1 and 45.6 points respectively; the indices for East, Central, South and North China declined, reaching 48.4, 46.9, 45.6 and 45.2 points respectively.

　　The Inclusive Finance Prosperity Index is jointly launched by China Economic Information Service, the China Banking Association, China Construction Bank and the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, with the participation of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, Bank of Jiangsu, Zhejiang Rural Commercial United Bank, Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank and other institutions, and is operated by the Xinhua Index Research Institute. Taking the financing and development of market entities such as small and micro enterprises and self-employed individuals as its entry point, the index reflects the development trend of the inclusive finance market from the two dimensions of enterprise operation and financing, and demonstrates the degree of prosperity of inclusive finance in serving small and micro enterprises.