?BEIJING -- The Export-Import (Exim) Bank of China, the official credit agency to finance the export of Chinese goods and services, said Saturday that it extended 400.3 billion yuan ($64.8 billion) of credit in the first half of this year.

In the first six months, the state bank approved on-balance-sheet loans totaling 408.5 billion yuan and signed loan contracts valued at 516.7 billion yuan, according to data released at the bank's work conference.

In the same period, export products and projects with a total value of $151.9 billion received funding from the bank, up 49 percent year-on-year, the data show.

The bank will direct more credit support to industries that are key to China's economic restructuring, according to the bank's governor, Li Ruogu.

By the end of June, Exim Bank of China's total assets reached about 1.94 trillion yuan, with the loan balance of its on-balance-sheet lending standing at 1.38 trillion yuan, according to the bank.