MNI China Press Digest, Dec 25: RRR Cut, Hidden Debt, Jobs

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

on Wednesday:

     The PBOC may cut banks' reserve requirement ratios in January to fill a

liquidity gap given the issuance of local government bonds and greater demand

for cash before the Chinese New Year, the Securities Daily reported citing

analysts including Pan Helin, executive dean of the Institute of Digital

Economy, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. The gap may exceed CNY3.5

trillion after accounting for the maturity of CNY600 billion of reverse repos

and CNY257.5 billion targeted medium-term lending facility, the newspaper said.

     China is allowing some cites or counties under greater debt pressure to

issue local government bonds to replace some implicit debts as pilot projects in

Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and Liaoning provinces, the 21st

Century Business Herald reported citing unidentified sources. Some market

participants estimate that the scale of hidden debt is as much as CNY40

trillion, the newspaper added.

     China will strive to prevent risks of large-scale unemployment by helping

businesses lower labor costs and creating more jobs, according to a document

posted on the State Council website on late Tuesday. The government will

strengthen financial support for private and small enterprises, regulate

corporate layoffs and support the development of service industries, according

to the statement.

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

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

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