The People's Bank of China has approved two border areas in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to pilot cross-border renminbi (RMB) borrowing.
According to the central bank's interim measure, businesses in the economic development zones in Kashgar and Horgos will be able to borrow RMB loans from institutional and private lenders from abroad to finance projects in all four prefectures in southern Xinjiang including Kashgar, Hotan, Kizilsu and Aksu.
The loans can only be used for production and construction projects rather than folk transaction activities, the bank said.
With the boom of e-commerce, Xinjiang is becoming better connected with the international community after the implementation of the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative.
The border areas have boosted infrastructure projects including roads, railways and energy corridors as well as the construction of cross-border logistics parks, import and export goods distribution centers and cross-border development zones to tap an unlimited trade potential with Central Asia, Russia and Europe as well as the Persian Gulf and countries around the Mediterranean Sea.
