MNI China Daily Summary: Friday, October 30

POLICY: China will aim for sustainable and healthy economic growth over the next five years by improving the quality and efficiency of its economy through further reform and by lifting consumption, said Vice Chairman Ning Jizhe of the National Development and Reform Commission. "Development is the foundation and key to solving all the problems," Ning said at a Friday briefing following the fifth plenum of the 19th CPC Committee, a key meeting that sets out the ruling party's plan for 2021-2025. The NDRC will develop quantitative targets and specific indicators to be presented to the National People's Congress, he said.

LIQUIDITY: The People's Bank of China (PBOC) injected CNY100 billion via 7-day reverse repos with the rate unchanged. This resulted in a net injection of CNY30 billion after the maturity of CNY70 billion of reverse repos, according to Wind Information. The operation aims to keep liquidity reasonable and ample, the PBOC said on its website.

RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) increased to 2.5854% from Thursday's close of 2.4962%, Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average rose to 2.2939% from the previous 2.1332%.

YUAN: The currency strengthened to 6.7002 against the dollar from 6.7104 on Thursday. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate lower at 6.7232, compared with the 6.7260 set on Thursday.

BONDS: The yield on 10-year China Government Bond was last at 3.1750%, down from the close of 3.1800% on Thusday, according to Wind Information.

STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.47% to 3,224.53, while the CSI300 index lost 1.63% to 4,695.33. Hang Seng Index dropped 1.95% to 24,107.42.

FROM THE PRESS: China will strive for more balanced "high-quality" development during the 2021-2025 Five-Year Plan, focusing on areas such as technology innovation, the real economy and internal demand, the 21st Business Herald said in an editorial, Published following the Fifth Plenary Meeting of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC, the Herald editorial said that China should achieve self-reliance in science and technology through promoting innovation capacity among technology enterprises and individual talents. China should develop a more advanced and modernized industrial system and service industry to promote the development of the real economy, and a strong domestic market under the "dual circulation" model would encourage comprehensive consumption and expand the investment space, the Herald said.

China can raise per capita income to that of a mid-tier developed country by 2035 if the country can maintain an annual growth rate of 5-5.5% in the next five years and 4-5.5% over the next 15, the National Business Daily reported citing Yan Se, associate professor at Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. Total factor productivity needs to stay above 2%, so China needs to improve its scientific and technological strength to become an innovation-driven economy and push reforms to make production more market-oriented, Yan said.

Domestic bond issuance by Chinese property developers rose 56.9% y/y from September to Oct. 29 to CNY101.75 billion, taking the total for the year to CNY628.35 billion, up 20.5% y/y, the Securities Daily reported citing data from Wind. Land premiums in Q4 were likely to drop as developers with higher debts slow land acquisition and focus on debt reduction, the Daily reported citing Wang Xiaoqiang, a data analyst from Zhuge Zhaofang. The increasing debt issuance during September and October reflected companies' utilization of the policy window before new regulations, and also the relatively low financing costs, Wang said.