China to inject US$44 bil into state banks, boost tech financing.

Analysts expect Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Agricultural Bank of China to be the recipients of the capital injection after four other state-owned banks received funds last year.

The recapitalisation comes as the world’s second-largest economy grapples with a prolonged property crisis, weak consumer confidence and deflationary pressure. Banks have seen an increase in bad loans tied to struggling developers and cash-strapped local governments.

This follows a roughly US$72 billion recapitalisation last year aimed at boosting big state banks’ core capital as they face lower profit margins and asset-quality strains.

Beijing also plans to regulate competition among financial institutions and promote consolidation among small- and medium-sized local financial institutions.