MNI China Press Digest, March 21:PBOC, Infrastructure, Tax Law

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

Thursday:

     It's almost impossible for the Fed to raise interest rates in 2019, giving

the PBOC greater freedom to use interest rate cuts based on domestic factors,

said Deng Haiqing, chief economist at Wallstreet CN in his report published

today. Though interest rate cuts remain uncertain, the PBOC is very likely to

cut the reserve requirement ratio in March and April, given that an RRR cut is

no longer a sign of loose monetary policy, but merely a tool to inject the base

money and reduce the cost of bank funds, Deng added.

     Infrastructure investment is expected to grow around 7 to 8% in 2019,

supported by funds from the national budget which could total CNY3.21 trillion,

Luo Ding, chief construction analyst at CITIC Securities said, the Securities

Daily reported today. The government is expected to continue to improve

infrastructure construction in key areas such as transportation and water

conservancy, the Daily cited Luo as saying.

     The Ministry of Finance didn't include a much-discussed new property law in

its 2019 plans as the National People's Congress has now taken over

responsibility for the issue, the Securities Daily reported today, citing an

unidentified source. The new property tax law will play an important role in

adjusting income, tempering housing prices and increasing local tax revenue,

said Zhang Yiqun, deputy director of China Fiscal Budget and Performance

Committee, the paper reported.

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

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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