China Press Digest: Monday, September 11

     BEIJING (MNI) - The following are highlights from the China press Monday,

September 11:

     Housing prices and sales in Tier-1 cities eased in August according to some

reports, China News reported Monday. There are worries prices may rise in

September and October -- a peak time for the property market -- but analysts

said the chances of the property sector overheating again were almost zero. The

government is trying to stabilize housing prices but transactions may increase

slightly. (China News)

     As demand for financing in the real economy rebounds, and bank

balance-sheet business increases because of reductions in off-balance-sheet

business, analysts say credit allocation in August may remain relatively high

and new credit may exceed CNY1 trillion, the Shanghai Securities News reported

Monday. A state-owned big bank source told the newspaper that companies'

short-term financing needs had increased and corporate loans may be the the

busiest sector in August. The source said state-owned-bank credit was

concentrated mainly in national infrastructure -- such as One Belt One Road,

Yangtze River Economic Zone and Xiong'an New District projects. (Shanghai

Securities News)

     Revenue at China's top 500 companies to date in 2017 has increased but

returns on assets has fallen to a 10-year low, the Economic Information Daily

reports. Total revenue of the top 500 companies surpassed CNY60 trillion for the

first time at CNY64 trillion -- or 7.64% growth compared with last year,

according to a report by the China Enterprise Confederation. Asset scale grew

13.38% y/y to CNY256.13 trillion for a second consecutive year of rise. But

profit ratio dipped. It grew at a relatively low 4.12% to CNY2827.34 billion.

The amount of added profit volume has dipped for three consecutive years, the

report said. China companies aren't equal with their Western counterparts - who

control high-end streams of the international value chain, according to the

confederation. It is hard for China companies to compete with foreign

competitors in motor vehicles, information technology and medicine, it said.

(Economic Information Daily)

     A recent rise in the yuan is mainly driven by a weakening of the U.S.

dollar and counter-cyclical factors, the China Securities Journal reported

Monday quoting experts. The yuan fixing against the dollar has risen for 10

consecutive trading days -- the longest appreciation streak since the beginning

of 2011, the newspaper said. Some companies have suffered losses as a result of

misjudging the yuan. Some may have lost several hundred million yuan, Mingsheng

Securities research center chairman Guan Qingyou said. The yuan may continue to

strengthen, Guan said. The yuan may be affected by the outlook for the dollar

and the euro, analysts were quoted saying in the report. In the short term the

dollar may rebound -- which may lead to a periodical adjustment of the yuan.

But, in the long term, an elimination of one-way depreciation expectations for

the yuan may achieve a "two-way fluctuation." (China Securities Journal)

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: iris.ouyang@marketnews.com

--MNI Singapore Bureau; +65 9023-5864; email: glen.perkinson@marketnews.com

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