| China suspends bank loans to 12 polluters BEIJING - TWELVE polluting enterprises have had crucial bank loans recalled, suspended or rejected as China's new 'green-credit policy' kicks into action, state media reported yesterday.
Sat, Nov 17, 2007
The Straits Times BEIJING - TWELVE polluting enterprises have had crucial bank loans recalled, suspended or rejected as China's new 'green-credit policy' kicks into action, state media reported yesterday. Decades of industrialisation have made water from some of China's lakes and rivers so polluted that it is no longer usable, with untreated factory waste pumped directly into water sources. China Youth Daily did not name the firms but outlined several cases. In one case, a brewery in Anhui province had its application for a 10 million yuan (S$2 million) bank loan rejected due to continued violations in waste-water discharge. In another, a power firm in Sichuan had its loans recalled after it failed an environmental assessment, Xinhua news agency said. The 12 companies were among the 30 reported by the State Environmental Protection Administration (Sepa) to the People's Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission this July. China's enterprises are only subject to a maximum 100,000 yuan fine for environmental violations. 'Compared with the economic benefits of illegally discharging pollutants, this kind of financial punishment is just a drop in the bucket for these enterprises,' a Sepa official was quoted as saying by China Youth Daily. REUTERS | 
