MNI China Press Digest, Dec 19: RRR Cut, Import, Bond Finance

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

Wednesday:

     It is still possible for the central bank to cut the Reserve Requirement

Ratio (RRR) in the next three to six months, as the authorities aim to drain

short-term liquidity but inject long-term liquidity, said China Securities

Journal today citing Hu Yuexiao, chief macroeconomic analyst at Shanghai

Securities. Hu also pointed out that the current 8% y/y growth of M2 is at the

bottom of the range that policymakers would allow, so the money supply could

rebound going forward to help stabilize economic growth and prevent risks, the

newspaper said.

     Going forward, policies to reduce tariffs and promote trade will continue

to be introduced, the Shanghai Securities Journal said today citing Mei Xinyu, a

researcher at the Institute of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Commerce. The

policy direction for expanding imports will not change, with imports expected to

maintain a growth rate of 10% or higher next year, the newspaper citing Gao

Lingyun, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

     In the two months since the PBOC gave guidance for new bond finance support

tools, there have been 182 bond launches, totalling CNY111.12 billion, issued to

ease financing difficulties for private companies, 21st Century Business Herald

reported today citing data from Wind terminal. Some local state-owned

enterprises have set up funds to bail out private companies suffering from

liquidity problems. Though these two moves have significantly increased support

to private enterprises, it is still far from what the central government

required, the newspaper citing Fan Wei, a deputy fixed-income manager at brokers

Shenwan Hongyuan.

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

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$A$$$,M$Q$$$,MBQ$$$]