MNI China Press Digest Apr 16: Rate Cut Mooted, PBOC, Exports

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Tuesday:

• The People’s Bank of China will likely cut the rate of the medium-term lending facility around mid-year by about 0.1-0.2 percentage points to stabilise real estate and boost demand while prices will remain low in the near future, said Wang Qing, analyst at Golden Credit Rating. The PBOC kept the MLF rate unchanged Monday due to stronger-than-expected macroeconomic data in the first two months and relatively high level financing for the real economy in Q1, said Zhou Maohua, analyst from China Everbright Bank. (Source: China Securities Journal)
• The PBOC will aim to deal with existing risks in an orderly and effective manner and further improve the early risk correction mechanism to curb incremental hazards, the central bank said Monday in a statement on its website. It is necessary to strengthen the analysis of the overall financial stability situation from a macro perspective, improve the risk monitoring and assessment system and the systemic risk identification mechanism, and strengthen risk reminders and early warnings, the PBOC said.
• Chinese exporters may face weakening demand after overseas customers replenished inventory in Q1 which had supported the high growth so far this year, said Mei Xinyu, researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. Though exports grew 7.1% y/y from January to February, they fell short of 2022 levels, said Mei, also pointing to the lower comparison base for the same period last year. Mei emphasised China needs to consolidate its traditional labour-intensive manufacturing base and processing trade to provide the modern service industry and high-end manufacturing with better support facilities. (Source: 21st Century Business Herald)