The three-day Central Economic Work Conference concluded yesterday with a pledge to shift monetary policy from "prudent" - an approach followed for the last decade - to "tight".

The conference, an annual event initiated more than a decade ago, serves as a crucial mechanism for the central government to make economic policies.

To better regulate domestic demand and balance international payments, various monetary instruments should be used to manage liquidity and strictly control the size of loans and frequency of credit extension, it was decided at the conference.