MNI China Press Digest Jan 27: Strong Yuan, Evergrande, Fiscal

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Wednesday:

• The Chinese yuan could strengthen above 6.32 against the U.S. dollar should global capital continue to flow into China’s stock and bond markets to hedge risks amid escalating Russia-Ukraine tensions and concerns about other developing markets' debt due to U.S. tightening, the 21st Century Business Herald reported citing FX traders. On Wednesday, the onshore yuan touched 6.3205 against the dollar, the highest since April 2018. Forex regulators may act if the yuan surges above 6.25 to curb speculation, the newspaper cited traders as saying. In the first three weeks of 2022, the net inflow of foreign capital into the A-share market reached a record daily average of US$413 million, the newspaper said.
• China Evergrande Group aims to present a preliminary debt restructuring plan in six months as the company conducts an audit, according to a company statement on Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing late Wednesday. The indebted developer reiterated that it will assess the status of the company and formulate a plan to safeguard the rights of stakeholders while listening carefully to creditors.
• China's governments should continue to curb administrative expenses, optimize spending structure and improve the efficiency of capital use, the Economic Daily said in a commentary. Stabilizing growth requires higher spending on major projects to improve infrastructure and people’s livelihood, the newspaper said. Though China's last year fiscal revenue grew 10.7% y/y to CNY20.25 trillion, CNY480 billion above target, it was partly driven by the lower comparable base of the previous year. If compared with 2019, the growth rate is 6.4%, and the two-year average growth rate is 3.1%, which is lower than GDP growth, the newspaper noted.