MNI China Daily Summary: Thursday, December 19
POLICY: China’s Ministry of Commerce is working with other departments across government to expand the trade-in scheme for consumer goods, said He Yongqian, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce.
LIQUIDITY: The People's Bank of China conducted CNY80.6 billion via 7-day reverse repos, with the rate unchanged at 1.50%. The operation led to a net injection of CNY14.5 billion after offsetting the maturity of CNY66.1 billion today, according to Wind Information.
RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) fell to 1.6880% from 1.8057% on Wednesday, Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average decreased to 1.4286% from the previous 1.4391%.
YUAN: The currency weakened to 7.2992 against the dollar, from 7.2856 at Wednesday's close. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate higher at 7.1911, compared with 7.1880 set on Wednesday. The fixing was estimated at 7.3143 by Bloomberg survey today.
BONDS: The yield on 10-year China Government Bonds was last at 1.7200%, up from Wednesday's close of 1.6875%, according to Wind Information.
STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.36% to 3,370.03, while the CSI300 index edged up 0.09% to 3,945.46. The Hang Seng Index was down 0.56% to 19,752.51.
FROM THE PRESS: Beijing should issue consumer coupons and fiscal subsidies to increase residents’ income and property earnings, expanding employment, and promoting the private economy, Yicai.com reported, citing Teng Tai, president at the Wanbo New Economic Research Institute. China can address youth unemployment through rural revitalisation and Chinese companies’ overseas expansion and digital transformation of traditional industries, the newspaper said, citing Zhang Chenggang, professor at Capital University of Economics and Business.
Nearly 10 cities in China, including Chongqing and Suzhou, have acquired over 10,000 unsold homes to increase affordable housing, Shanghai Securities News reported. In Suzhou, the local branch of the China Development Bank led the issuance of a CNY1.1 billion syndicated loan to support local state-owned enterprises in buying and transforming property units, aiming to sell them for “meagre profits” later, the newspaper said. The scheme will accelerate destocking and ease funding pressure for developers.
Beijing will optimise a currency management pilot programme for international firms in China, the country’s central bank has announced. Measures include lowering corporate financing costs, simplifying cross-border payment and receipt processes, and further supporting the handling of funds between main domestic accounts and overseas entities. The pilot service has expanded to 10 provinces since starting in Beijing and Shenzhen in 2021, Securities Daily noted.