URUMQI, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China last year streamlined procedures, slashed electricity prices and pushed banks to issue more loans to facilitate its private sector, local authorities said.

The regional department of industry and information technology said Xinjiang registered 19,000 new small and medium enterprises in 2018, creating a total of 170,000 new jobs.

The past year saw 23 items removed from the list of issues requiring investors to seek government approvals, said the department. Other supportive measures include building cooperation between 23 financial institutions and eight industrial parks to address companies' difficult access to loans.

The regional government also lowered electricity prices for industrial and commercial users by an average of 10 percent and offered a 30-percent discount in railway transportation fees.

Private companies are prospering in multiple sectors of Xinjiang, including new energy equipment, agricultural products processing, textiles and garments.