As the country continues its much-needed market-oriented reform of the financial sector, the central bank made a milestone move on Friday to remove controls on the lending rates of commercial banks.

The move, which allows the banks to lend at a rate lower than the previous floor of 70 percent of the benchmark rate, shows the resolve of the authorities to press ahead with financial reforms.

As GDP growth has slowed to 7.5 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, a low rate of growth rarely seen in the past three decades, calls for bailout measures, such as a major monetary stimulus, have been on the rise.