MNI China Press Digest, Aug 28: Yuan, Property, Ind Profit

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Friday:

The CFETS RMB Index, measuring the strength of the yuan against a basket of currencies, may gain in the short-term as China leads the global recovery and draws foreign capital, the China Securities Journal said citing Golden Credit Rating. In the near term, the yuan is still impacted by the global pandemic and changing global events, the Journal said.

Regulators should tighten the Chinese real estate market and let home prices return to reasonable levels in the hope that people will spend more on consumer items, the Securities Times said citing Ni Pengfei, a director at the Research Center for City and Competitiveness at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Higher prices for land and houses also erode the profits of manufacturers and drive them out of expensive sites, Ni said.

Profits at China's major industrial companies rose 19.6% y/y to CNY589.5 billion in July, the third month of annual gains, led by sales of automobiles and electronics, the Economic Information Daily reported. The Daily's report cited data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, which showed that the July gains came after an increase of 11.5% y/y in June as the economy continued its recovery. Profits at mining and raw material producers, however, face greater cash flow pressure as account receivables rose and profits declined, according to the Bureau.