China will relax merger and acquisition loans for technology enterprises

BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - China's financial regulator said on Wednesday it will launch a pilot program to relax merger and acquisition (M&A) loan issuance to technology firms, according to a statement released by the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

Under the pilot program, the proportion of such loans will be allowed to account for as much as 80% of a firm's total M&A transactions, up from no more than 60% under current rules, the regulator said. The loan term will be relaxed to a maximum of 10 years from the current seven years, it said.

The pilot program will cover 18 cities including Shanghai and Beijing, according to the statement.