MNI China Daily Summary: Thursday, October 19

POLICY: China’s National Development and Reform Commission has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) regarding cooperation in Hong Kong’s bond market, allowing the NDRC to better support Chinese enterprises' access to cross-border finance in Hong Kong.

LIQUIDITY: The People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted CNY344 billion via 7-day reverse repo on Thursday, with the rate unchanged at 1.80%. The operation has led to a net injection of CNY182 billion after offsetting the maturity of CNY162 billion reverse repos today, according to Wind Information.

RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) increased to 2.0723% from 1.9362%, Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average increased to 1.8727% from 1.8330%.

YUAN: The currency weakened to 7.3153 to the dollar from 7.3099 on Wednesday. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate flat at 7.1795 on Thursday. The fixing was estimated at 7.3176 by Bloomberg survey today.

BONDS: The yield on 10-year China Government Bonds was last at 2.7450%, up from Wednesday's close of 2.7300%, according to Wind Information.

STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.74% to 3,005.39 while the CSI300 index decreased 2.13% to 3,533.54. The Hang Seng Index was down 2.46% to 17,295.89.

FROM THE PRESS:

The yuan will likely rebound gradually as economic growth continues to improve and the current account maintains a surplus, alongside difficulty for the U.S. dollar index to rise further, said 21st Century Business Herald in a commentary. A large trade surplus – CNY4.4 trillion in the first three quarters – supports the currency, with capital outflow pressure eased on the recent economic rebound. The dollar is hard to further strengthen significantly, as the Federal Reserve is seen to end rate hikes. Meanwhile, the central bank has sufficient policy tools and will resolutely guard against the risk of overshooting. The yuan has fluctuated about the 7.3 level against the dollar in recent months.

Representatives from 35 countries signed up to the Digital Economy and Green Development Economic and Trade Cooperation Framework during the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, according to Securities Daily. Member states entered the agreement because digital and green transformation are two major trends in global economic and social transformation, and are important drivers of economic growth going forward. The news agency said the framework seeks to create an open environment, improve trade facilitation, bridge the digital divide and enhance consumer trust.

China’s implementation of stable macro-economic policy throughout the year has created a solid foundation for a continued recovery in Q4, according to Yao Jingyuan, a special researcher at the State Council and former chief economist at the National Bureau of Statistics. Although high-tech fields such as new energy and materials have accelerated and created new advantages, data shows the economy has not finished structural transition, and the impact caused by the three-year epidemic has not yet completely resolved, Yao noted. (Source: 21st Century Herald)