MNI China Press Digest April 13: Bank Opening, Manufacturing

     BEIJING (MNI) - The following lists highlights from the Chinese press for

Friday:

     Experts are divided in terms of the yuan's outlook amid the trade spat

between China and the U.S., China Securities Journal reported. The yuan started

to rise since the second half of March, which was driven by the drop of the

dollar generally, the report said. Trade tensions also weigh on market sentiment

in the short run. Some analysts said in the short term expectation that the yuan

would rise could weaken and lead to more fluctuations due to the ongoing trade

spat, while others said in the short term the yuan would maintain stable with

limited fluctuations.

     China's decision to further open its banking sector to foreign banks will

not cause a huge shock to domestic banks, China Securities Journal reported.

China's banking sector is already strong enough to counter possible risks.

Chinese banks developed much faster than foreign banks domestically, so it will

not make Chinese banks significantly less competitive.

     China will issue a series of policies and measures to develop its

manufacturing sector, and to create regional industrial clusters, Economic

Information Daily reported, citing unspecified authorities. Within this year,

China will improve and upgrade its Made In China 2025 plan, and will tailor the

guidance to individual cities and provinces, the newspaper said. A guidance on

creating industrial clusters where companies geographically gather in the

Yangtze River Economic Belt will be issued, it said. It's said regional

industrial cluster is a new trend for China's economic development, which will

help the country achieve high-quality economic growth.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: iris.ouyang@marketnews.com

--MNI Singapore Bureau; +65 8233 2326; email: Asia-Editor@marketnews.com

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