Beijing seen trying new ways to cut borrowing costs

Beijing

CHINA is looking for new ways to lower stubbornly high long-term borrowing costs and stop the fruits of its looser monetary policy being pumped into speculative plays instead of supporting its slowing economy, policy insiders say.

Beijing has attempted to cushion the slowdown by twice freeing banks to lend more this year and cutting interest rates three times since November, but banks have been reluctant to make long-term loans to businesses to avoid bad debts. "Recent monetary easing has shown little effect on stabilising growth. There are concerns that money is flowing into the stock market instead of the real economy," said a senior economist with a well-connected think tank.