MNI China Press Digest, April 4: Bond Open,Tax Cuts,Property

     BEIJING (MNI) - The following lists highlights from China press reports on

Thursday:

     China will continue to advance the opening of the bond market and also

encourage engagement with international ratings agencies, according to an

unidentified PBOC official quoted by the Shanghai Securities News. The newspaper

quoted the official as saying that China's ratings system lags behind

international standards and needed to be enhanced if it was to win international

recognition. The official said China should study when to allow foreign

financial institutions to fully participate in repurchases of bonds, and advance

the use of yuan-denominated derivatives. The debut of China's bond market on the

Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index on Monday is expected to force further

reform, and the lack of trading mobility of bonds needed to be resolved, the

newspaper said.

     China has confirmed it will cut CNY300 billion in administrative fees

collected by the Government, China Securities Journal reported on Thursday. The

newspaper also reported the Government had approved drafts of regulations under

the new foreign investment law. Starting from July 1, registration fees for

immovable property IP will be removed, while fees for trademark registration,

passport and visa pictures and wifi services for cars will also be reduced, said

officials led by Premier Li Keqiang at China's State Council regular meeting.

Taxes on certain goods taken by individuals into China, including food,

medicine, textiles, and electronics will also be cut from April 9, according to

the Journal. Laws covering Administration Permission, Trade Marks, Construction

and Electronic Signatures have also been approved and will be submitted for

approval by the National People's Congress, the Securities Journal said.

     China should be cautious about increasing speculation in the property

sector and needed to act to curb such behaviour, the Economic Information Daily

said in a front-page commentary on Thursday. After two years' of tight property

policies, housing prices have fallen and market demand is building, the

newspaper said. The commentary also said that lower mortgage rates were having a

positive impact on demand in some cities. However, it warned against local

governments stimulating the property sector for short term growth.

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

--MNI Sydney Bureau; +61 405322399; email: lachlan.colquhoun.ext@marketnews.com

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