BEIJING - China has issued more inclusive finance loans in the first quarter as government introduces more policies to support small companies and individuals, official data showed.

In the first three months, inclusive finance loans increased by 1.96 trillion yuan ($302.9 billion), 925.9 billion yuan more than the same period last year, according to data from the People's Bank of China.

By the end of March, outstanding inclusive finance loans stood at 23.46 trillion yuan, up 28 percent year-on-year.

Inclusive finance lending includes loans to micro, small and self-employed businesses, farmers, students and people living in poverty.

The country has rolled out various measures to offer much-needed credit to firms and individuals affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, including targeted reserve requirement ratio cuts for small banks.