MNI China Press Digest, Dec 26: GDP, RRR Cuts, Perpetual Bond

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

Wednesday:

     China's GDP is forecast to grow 6.3% in 2019, down 0.3 percentage point

from this year, Financial News, a newspaper run by the People's Bank of China,

said today citing a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The

slowdown is due to the declining labor supply and slowing productivity, as well

as slower growth of capital, the newspaper said citing the report.

     China's monetary policy may be characterized by mainly targeted controls

next year as ways to direct liquidity into the real economy, said Economic

Information Daily today citing economists. China is expected to have two or

three cuts to reserve requirement ratios next year, which will again be mainly

targeted cuts. China is unlikely to cut broad interest rates given that the

current deposit and lending benchmark rates are already at historical lows, the

Daily said citing a report by the Bank of Communications Financial Research

Center.

     China's Financial Stability and Development Committee is looking for ways

to promote the launch of perpetual bond issuances as a way to help commercial

banks replenish capital, the 21st Century Business Herald reported today. There

are presently no precedents or regulatory rules on this instrument, the

newspaper said. The bearish stock market has limited banks' ability to raise

capital this year, as they can only issue more shares to original shareholders,

the report said.

--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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