MNI China Press Digest, Jan 17: RRR, GDP Target, TSF Data

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

on Friday:

     China is expected to lower the required reserve ratio by 50 bps in 2020,

Beijing Business Today reports. Citing Wen Bin, chief analyst at China Minsheng

Bank, the newspaper's report says China will keep the rate of Medium-term

Lending Facility unchanged due to inflation pressures, while the market-oriented

Loan Prime Rate, used by banks to price loans, is expected to be cut by 5bps in

January.

     Several Provinces in Eastern China set their GDP growth targets "around 6%"

for 2020, indicating that the national growth target should adopt the same

wording, according to a report in 21st Century Business Herald. Citing Sheng

Laiyun, the deputy head of the National Bureau of Statistics, the Herald said

that research by various experts showed that China's potential economic growth

rate is around 6%.

     The inclusion of Chinese government and local government bonds into

calculations of total social financing (TSF) can better support the coordination

of monetary and fiscal policies, the People's Daily reported. Citing Ruan

Jianhong, the Director of Financial Survey and Statistics Department at the

People's Bank of China (PBOC), the Daily's report said current liquidity in the

banking system is reasonable and abundant, financial data is generally better

and structures are optimized.

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

--MNI Sydney Bureau; +61 405322399; email: lachlan.colquhoun.ext@marketnews.com

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