Five banks in Shanghai on Thursday jointly granted credit totaling 50 billion yuan (US$7.4 billion) to support the recovery of the city's cultural and tourism industry.

The Shanghai branches of Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank and Bank of China, as well as Bank of Shanghai and Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank have signed agreements with relevant enterprises to provide financial support for the construction of a new cultural E-sports center, issuance of consumption coupons, rural vitalization, and digital transformation of scenic spots.

The epidemic will not change the general trend of high-quality development of the cultural and tourism industry, and deepened cooperation between government, banks and enterprises will help Shanghai's cultural and tourism industry tide over difficulties and accelerate its recovery, said Fang Shizhong, director of the municipality's administration of culture and tourism.

Since 2020, these five banks have supported nearly 4,000 cultural and tourism enterprises in Shanghai, issuing loans of more than 53 billion yuan.