BEIJING   -   China’s central bank on Sunday said it had established a special re­lending facility worth 500 bil­lion yuan (about 70.47 billion US dollars) to support sci-tech innovation, technical transfor­mation and equipment renewal. The interest rate of the one-year facility stands at 1.75 per­cent. It can be extended twice, with a one-year term each, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement. The facility aims to guide financial institu­tions to step up credit support for sci-tech-oriented small and medium-sized firms in their early stage of development or in growth stage, and for techni­cal transformation and equip­ment renewal projects to help key sectors become more digi­talised, smart, advanced, and green, according to the PBOC.