MNI China Daily Summary: Tuesday, January 5

LIQUIDITY: The People's Bank of China (PBOC) injected CNY10 billion via 7-day reverse repos with the rate unchanged on Tuesday. This resulted in a net drain of CNY130 billion given the maturity of CNY140 billion of reverse repos today, according to Wind Information. The operations aim to maintain the liquidity in the banking system as reasonable and ample, the PBOC said on its website.

RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) dropped to 1.6461% from 1.8552% for Monday, Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average decreased to 0.7114% from the previous 0.8620%.

YUAN: The currency weakened to 6.4640 against the dollar from 6.4628 Monday. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate lower at 6.4760, the lowest point since June 21 in 2018, compared with the 6.5408 on Monday.

BONDS: The yield on the 10-year China Government Bond was last at 3.1775%, down from Monday's 3.2575%, according to Wind Information.

STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.73% to 3,528.68 while the CSI300 index increased 1.91% to 5,368.50. The Hang Seng Index increased by 0.64% to 27649.86.

FROM THE PRESS: The yuan may strengthen further after surging past 6.45 against the dollar given China's stronger recovery and exports, a weakening dollar and strong momentum for investment in Chinese securities markets, the Shanghai Securities News reported. The conclusion of China-EU trade talks and weakening U.S. exports may continue to reduce the dollar's strength against the yuan, the newspaper reported.

Stamp duties on trading stocks in China may be cut or removed after the State Council took over jurisdiction from the Ministry of Finance, the Securities Times reported citing speculation by market participants. The rate of stamp tax, a tool to control the volume of trading, was adjusted twice in 2008 to the current 1%, the Times said. A senior policy advisor Huang Qifan, who is the former city mayor of Chongqing, advocated in 2018 to cancel the tax, according to the newspaper report.

China must develop its technological advantages and strengthen its industrial and supply chains to compete against other major powers in the years ahead, the Enterprise Observer reported citing Liu Yuanchun, an advisor to the central government and the vice dean of Renmin University of China. China may not regain its 4% annual growth momentum even after fully recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, Liu said, citing China's aging population, a lack of revolutionary technologies and anti-globalization as factors which may impede growth.