BEIJING (March 6): China's financial regulator said on Wednesday it will launch a pilot programme to relax merger and acquisition (M&A) loan issuance to technology firms, according to a statement released by the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

Under the pilot programme, the proportion of such loans will be allowed to account for as much as 80% of a firm's total M&A transactions, up from no more than 60% under current rules, the regulator said. The loan term will be relaxed to a maximum of 10 years from the current seven years, it said.

The pilot programme will cover 18 cities including Shanghai and Beijing, according to the statement.

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