MNI China Press Digest Mar 17: Rate Cut, Real Estate, Economy

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Thursday:

• The People’s Bank of China is likely to cut interest rates and banks’ reserve requirement ratios in March or in the second quarter following the Financial Stability and Development Committee's call for more proactive monetary policies to stabilize growth, the 21st Century Business Herald reported citing Tang Jianwei, chief researcher with Bank of Communications. China should increase credit easing given the current economic downward pressure and cuts to interest rates and RRRs may be necessary should the real estate market falls further, or if GDP growth slows to below 5%, the newspaper said citing Wang Qing, an analyst with Golden Credit Rating.
• China is expected to introduce stronger support policies soon to revive the real estate sector after the publicized Financial Stability and Development Committee meeting on Wednesday, said the Securities Times citing Yan Yuejin, director of E-house China Research and Development Institution. Following the committee's announcement, the Finance Ministry halted the expansion of the pilot property tax program, while the central bank and the China Securities Regulatory Commission said they will focus on resolving the risks of developers, the newspaper said. New measures that may be introduced should help real estate stocks reverse bearishness, and inject confidence into developers and home buyers, the newspaper said citing Yan.
• The resilience and potential of the Chinese economy are much better than imagined by some people, and the “China collapse” theory has always collapsed first, the state-owned Global Times said in an editorial. Despite domestic anxiety about the economy and pessimistic views from abroad, China has the confidence and strength to sustain development with the CPC Central Committee's leadership, the newspaper said.