MNI China Press Digest, March 6: CPI, Loan, Infrastructure

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

on Friday:

     China's CPI for February is expected to grow at 5% as a result of the

disruption to production from the epidemic, Economic Information Daily reports

by citing various sources among market analysts. The CPI grew at 5.4% in

January. Sun Binbin, the chief economist with TF Securities, told the newspaper

the growth in CPI would fall to 4.5% in March with the resumption of economic

activity.

     New yuan loans in China are expected to fall into the range of CNY800

billion to CNY1.3 trillion in February, the Economic Information Daily reports.

Citing Wang Yifeng, chief banking analyst at Everbright Securities, the Daily

said banks' short-term consumer loans and credit cards had seen significant

negative growth since the epidemic, with housing mortgages also shrinking. These

retail loans will remain sluggish until the epidemic has improved, the newspaper

said.

     China should increase funding efficiency while boosting investment on new

infrastructure projects against the backdrop of reduced fiscal revenue from land

sales, the strict control of implicit debts and the deleveraging campaign,

Securities Times said in a front page commentary. New infrastructure refers to

high-tech projects such as 5G networks and smart cities, as well as projects

making up for shortfalls in areas such as education and medical care, the

newspaper said. 

     Two cities in China have cancelled newly-announced policies relaxing

controls on a real estate market hit by the epidemic, according to International

Finance News. The cancellations were an indication that the central government

is still keeping a tight grip on speculative activities in the property market,

the report said. Citing Yan Yuejin, the research director of the Shanghai

E-House Real Estate Research Institute, the newspaper said authorities are

cautious to reverse tight controls on home buyers, although they are more likely

to tweak policies on developers.  

--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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