SHANGHAI'S outstanding loans to small businesses amounted to 853.3 billion yuan (US$138.1 billion) by the end of June, accounting for almost 20 percent of all loan categories, the local banking regulator said.

The city's stepped up support for a sector that is crucial to the national economy comes amid a slowdown.

Growth of lending to small and micro businesses outpaced other loan categories in the first half, while 13,000 more businesses in the city received small credits during the period, the China Banking Regulatory Commission Shanghai Office said in a statement yesterday.

With the city home to 197 bank branches dedicated to petty loans, there is an outlet providing small credit every two kilometers on average, according to the statement.

The Shanghai Banking Association this year launched a new version of the information platform that works as an online communication tool between lenders and firms, which had more than 60,000 visits in the first six months, the regulator said.

According to the CBRC in Beijing outstanding loans to small and micro firms totaled 16 trillion yuan by May-end, accounting for 22 percent of the national total.