MNI China Press Digest, Feb 11: GDP, Retail Sales, Liquidity

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

     --With China's economy still facing headwinds, conservative estimates

suggest China's GDP growth this year will fall to about 6.3%, with Q1 growth

maybe as low as 6%, the Economic Information Daily said in a front-page op-ed

today. So far, a total 22 out of 30 provinces have set a lower growth target

this year, lower by an average of 0.4 percentage points, and more than 10 have

set the target rate at around 6%, the Daily said.

     --The sales at retail and catering enterprises nationwide totalled around

CNY1.005 trillion over the Chinese New Year break, a rise of 8.5% from the same

period last year, China News Service reported, citing data released by the

Ministry of Commerce on Sunday. The sales of Chinese green food, smart home

appliances, new digital products and local specialty products showed rapid

growth during the holiday, the Ministry said.

     --A total CNY1.0635 trillion on money market ops mature in the week

following the Chinese New Year holiday, including CNY402.5 billion of MLFs,

China Securities Journal reported, citing data from Wind. Analysts think total

liquidity will remain ample and the central bank's OMOs will be steady,

considering the size of funds likely to flow back to the system after the

holiday, the newspaper said.

--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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