BEIJING - China's new loans are likely to increase from the November level to between 550 billion yuan ($86.9 billion ) and 600 billion yuan this month, as bank lending picked up growth in mid-December, Thursday's China Securities Journal reported.

In the first half of December, new bank loans of China's biggest four commercial banks, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of China, and the China Construction Bank, reached 75 billion yuan, said the report.

This compares to 30 billion yuan in the first ten days of this month, it said, citing market sources.

New loans this year are likely to approach 7.5 trillion yuan, the newspaper said.

"The month-on-month increase in new lending in the fourth quarter suggests a less tightened credit condition next year," sources said.

New yuan-denominated loans in November declined from the previous month to 562.2 billion yuan, according to the central bank.

China's central bank on Wednesday reiterated that it will continue to implement a prudent monetary policy in 2012 while making it more targeted, flexible and foresighted in order to support stable and healthy economic growth.

The remarks came after Premier Wen Jiabao called on banks to take concrete action in better serving the real economy.

During a trip to Jiangsu province on Sunday and Monday, Wen said financial institutions should enhance support for enterprises while improving management in order to control the capital bubble and prevent risks.

Analysts have expected that the new lending scale next year will increase from the 2011 level, and most banks have planned to keep 30 to 50 percent of next year's new loans for small and medium-sized businesses, the report quoted sources from the banking sector as saying.

Banks will play a more important role as the country has decided to focus on maintaining stable economic growth next year, and a moderate credit expansion would better support the real economy, it said.