Lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accounted for 51.9 percent of the total loans to enterprises in 2008, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the central bank, said on Friday at a press conference during the 2nd Session of the 11th National People's Congress.

"Loans to SMEs in 2008 increased 13.5 percent year-on-year. In the first two months of 2009, bank lending to SMEs increased more because a lot of SMEs raised money via bill discounts (an act by which the legal holder of a commercial bill transfers it to the bank to acquire cash before its maturity date),�� Zhou said.

"Increased financing for commercial bills has helped to fund SMEs greatly," he noted.

Chinese banks issued 1.62 trillion yuan in new loans in January, up 101 percent year-on-year, the central bank said on Feb 12. Commercial bill financing was 620 billion yuan, accounting for 38 percent of the total new loans.