A total of 442 million yuan in micro loans were lent in the first six months of this year in Hebei province, 266 million yuan ($65.2 million) more than the same time period of last year, yzdsb.com.cn reported.

Shijiazhang, capital of Hebei, extended 90.09 million yuan of micro loans in the first half of this year, ranking first among all cities in the province. The city of Baoding extended 63.34 million yuan, and the city of Tangshan extended 58.03 million yuan.

Micro loans worth 1.73 billion yuan has already been lent since Hebei province piloted a program aimed at helping people set up companies or to fund small and medium-sized companies.

The 1.73 billion in loans have helped 42,800 people set up their own companies and helped 184,300 people land jobs.

A total of 486 million yuan of micro loans had been repaid as of the end of June, accounting for 97 percent of such loans due.

Among 92 cities in Hebei province, 82 cities have launched micro loan businesses.

In addition, 111 labor-intensive small enterprises across Hebei gained 210 million yuan in loans in the first half of this year.

By Song Jingli