MNI China Press Digest, June 15: PBOC, Covid-19, Bank Card

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

on Monday:

     The People's Bank of China would choose the right time to ease monetary

policy by lowering reserve ratios or cutting interest rates, and any easing

should largely be "fine-tuning", according to the China Securities Journal. In a

front page commentary, the Journal said monetary easing should continue because

the economic recovery had some distance to go, with the May PPI falling 3.7%

y/y, a decline greater than in April.

     Beijing reported 72 new cases of the Covid-19 virus on Saturday and Sunday

all linked to the biggest wholesale market supplying about 80% of the city's

food. Fengtai Authority, where the market is located, is conducting tests of

around 46 thousand nearby residents. The municipal government has also sent

community workers to screen people who have visited the market, according to the

Beijing Daily. Gene sequencing tests showed that the Covid-19 virus may have

been imported from Europe, according to Beijing's Centre for Disease Control and

Prevention.

     U.S. financial company American Express received a bank card clearing

license for its 50% Chinese joint venture on Saturday, according to a statement

by China's Banking and Insurance Regulatory Committee. American Express, which

is the first foreign player in the China cards market, plans to start the new

business this year, China Securities Journal reported citing the company.

MasterCard has also filed applications to the banking regulator for business

approval, the Journal said. 

--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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