BEIJING -- The Agricultural Development Bank of China, the country's rural policy bank, released about 20.5 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) of loans to 160 rural counties nationwide in the first four months of this year.

The loan issuance increased by about 4.6 billion yuan from a year earlier, said the policy bank.

A special project will be launched to prevent the country's key rural areas from falling back into poverty and push forward rural vitalization on all fronts, it said.

The bank, accordingly, will provide tailor-made financial services, expand loan issuance to rural residents, and help channel more investment into rural areas.

It will also organize more investment activities in these areas for state-owned companies and industry leaders in agriculture from the country's more-developed eastern parts.