China' new loans in July were forecast to drop to less than 500 billion yuan (US$73.2 billion), down from 1.53 trillion yuan lending last month, said Friday's Shanghai Securities News.

Government data showed that Chinese banks lent a record 7.37 trillion yuan in the first half of this year to shore up the economy, exceeding the full-year target of five trillion yuan.

Analysts held that despite the slowdown loans growth pace in July, investors' worries over liquidity shortages were unnecessary, as China's central bank reiterated on Wednesday that the country would firmly stick to its moderately easy monetary policy to bolster the economy recovery.

The paper citied a latest report released by Beijing-based China International Capital Corp. predicting that new loans in China would reach 10 trillion yuan for the full year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2009)