A dozen companies based in Baotou, in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, have been included on a national list of key enterprises to receive financial protection in the wake of the novel coronavirus epidemic, according to a March 13 report in the Baotou Evening News.

The companies -- operating in key fields including medicine, grain and oil, as well as the production and processing of agricultural and livestock products -- will get national funding support.

The assistance will mainly be on two fronts: financial and institutional credit support through special re-loans and the central government's disbursal of discounted funds to reduce corporate financing costs.

In terms of loan renewals the People's Bank of China, the central bank, has issued special re-loans to banks to enable them to provide preferential loans to companies on the list.

The banks include China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China, the Agricultural Development Bank of China and local banks.

To lessen the financing cost of businesses, the central government has arranged discount interest funds for enterprises that enjoy special re-loan support from the People's Bank of China.

The terms of the interest discounts will be based on the central bank’s special re-loan support, officials said.

They said the authorities will discount interest at 50 percent of the actual loan interest rate of the company and the interest discount period shall not exceed one year.