MNI China Press Digest, March 29: RRR Cut, Perpetual Bond, GDP

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

Friday:

     The reserve requirement ratio cuts remain the PBOC's preferred policy tool

and they could cut as soon as April with a further two cuts, and it is expected

to have a total of three cuts this year, said Xu Gao, chief economist at China

Everbright Securities Asset Management Ltd, the Securities Daily reports. There

is an important window for an RRR cut after the release of Q1 GDP, the newspaper

said.

     Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, one of the big four state-owned

banks, is planning to issue more than CNY80 billion of perpetual bonds to

supplement its Tier 1 capital, the Beijing News reported late Thursday. ICBC

added around CNY200 billion to its core capital last year through net profit

after dividends, but it is still not enough for the development of the bank,

said Gu Shu, head of ICBC, the paper reported.

     China's GDP growth is seen at 6.3% in Q2, and the annual GDP at 6.4%, given

the improvement in the domestic market and support policies, despite of external

uncertainties, a report by BOC Institute of International Finance says. This

will provide a suitable environment for the banking industry to promote

supply-side structural reform, the report added.

--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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