MNI China Press Digest July 20:GDP, Real-estate, State Council

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Thursday:

• China will achieve close to 5% economic growth in H2 once authorities implement incremental policy support, according to Wang Yuanhong, deputy director at the Economic Forecast Department of the State Information Center. In an interview with 21st Century Herald, Wang said the government should focus on supporting the private economy which has strong potential for recovery in H2. Officials must take action to improve the consumption environment, and stabilise real-estate investment by adopting city-specific and local-specific policies, Wang said. (Source: 21st Century Herald)
• The market value of China's 334 real-estate companies was CNY3.38 trillion by the end of 2022, a decrease of CNY0.61 trillion compared with 2021, with both the total and average market value hitting new lows, according to a report by Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute. Total market value continued to shrink in H1 2023. At least 11 A-share listed real-estate companies were labeled with delisting risk and the stock prices of eight companies have fallen to around CNY1 or below, according to the calculation of Yicai. (Source: Yicai)
• China will improve conditions for private business and treat private companies the same as state-owned enterprises, according to a joint statement from the party’s central committee and State Council on Wednesday. It will support qualified private small and medium-sized enterprises to raise funds in the bond market, encourage qualified private enterprises to issue technological innovation corporate bonds, and increase credit enhancement for their bond financing. It will also support qualified private enterprises to go public for financing and refinancing, the statement said. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)