China is broadening monetary and housing support as economic strains rise. The People's Bank of China will cut rates on pledged supplementary lending (PSL), a central-bank facility for targeted funding, by 25 basis points, taking the one-year rate to 1.5% from 1.75%. It will also expand PSL support to water, power-grid, computing, communications, urban pipeline and logistics networks. Quotas will rise by 200 billion yuan to 1.4 trillion yuan for sci-tech innovation and technological upgrading, by 500 billion yuan to 4.85 trillion yuan for farms and small businesses, and by 300 billion yuan to 1.3 trillion yuan for private enterprises. The central bank said it would maintain ample liquidity and guide interest rates toward levels that support the real economy. Separately, the central bank and financial regulator said the government will subsidize interest on new commercial mortgages for eligible first-home buyers nationwide from October 1. The annual subsidy will equal 1 percentage point for up to five years, with the subsidized portion capped at 1 million yuan per household. Eligible homes must measure no more than 120 square metres and cost no more than 1.5 million yuan per household. The measures follow a cabinet pledge to strengthen counter-cyclical policy support for the slowing economy.