MNI China Press Digest, March 2: PBOC, infrastructure, Virus

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

on Monday:

     Chinese banks are required to extend or renew loans to medium and

small-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the coronavirus epidemic which have

matured since January 25, according to a statement on the PBOC's website today.

Payments of loan interest and capital can be extended up to June 30 without any

penalty interest, the PBOC said. Banks should arrange special credit for

company's in the epicentre of Hubei province and strive to reduce the financing

costs for SMEs by more than one percentage point this year from a year earlier,

the PBOC said. 

     Seven provinces in China have approved infrastructure projects valued at

CNY25 trillion and CNY3.5 trillion of the investment will be completed in 2020,

according to China Business News. Citing Ren Zeping, head of Evergrande Research

Institute, the newspaper said infrastructure investment is the most effective

way to lift the Chinese economy and help maintain stability and growth through

the coronavirus epidemic period. It can also step up the competitiveness of the

economy in the long-term, the report said.

     Ningxia, Beijing, Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces in China have reported a

total of five imported Covid-19 cases as of Sunday, according to Quanshang

Zhongguo, an online publication affiliated with Securities Times. The cases

suggested the possibility that China could change from exporting to importing

cases amid the current rapid global spread of the virus, the newspaper said.

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

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

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