MNI China Press Digest, Dec 21: Reform, Finance, Real Estate

     BEIJING (MNI) - The following lists highlights from Friday's China press:

     Policymakers should advance capital market reform based on the economic

situation, and stabilize growth while promoting reform, the Securities Daily

said in a commentary piece Friday. The comments came after the PBOC commented

Thursday about accelerating market reform. The government should avoid a

collision between reform measures and the growth target as they look to pursue a

win-win outcome, the Daily said. In the long-term, capital market reform should

boost the business environment, the main infrastructure to stabilizing growth,

the newspaper said.

     More financial activities should come under the scope of the central bank's

macro-prudential management, the Financial News said Friday. Macro-prudential

policies play a leading and key role in controlling systemic risks, as they can

regulate the entire financial sector and the whole financial market via

counter-cyclical and cross-market regulations, the PBOC-run newspaper said,

citing Lian Ping, chief economist at Bank of Communications.

     Strict regulation on the housing market will likely continue next year

under the long-term tone of "housing is for living not speculation", the China

Securities Journal said Friday. Purchase or sales limits, as well as loan

restrictions, are unlikely to be removed, the newspaper said. The housing market

will likely enter a downturn, though indicators like real estate investment, new

housing projects, land transaction volumes, and developers' funding are still in

positive territory. Sales are showing significant pressure and house prices will

continue to fall, the paper said citing Chen Cong, analysts at CITIC Securities.

--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

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