MNI China Press Digest, May 24: Liquidity, Housing, Soybeans

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

Friday:

     Liquidity will remain stable, albeit with a looser bias in the near term,

as the tax season slows and upcoming fiscal policies are expected to release

liquidity, China Securities Journal reported today. The CSJ also noted that the

market should not have high expectations of lower money market rates, as the

PBOC has constraints on easing as it tries to balance domestic and external

issues against increasing forex fluctuations.

     China will not rely housing speculation to drive economic growth, but look

to continued reform efforts across the economy to balance against external

headwinds, the People's Daily Overseas Edition said today. Giving local

governments more autonomy over housing policy does not mean a relaxation of

housing regulation, the daily said. China will stick to the idea that housing

"is for living in, not for speculation", the paper added.

     China's farmers will look to take advantage of government incentives and

plant an additional 16.4% y/y area of soybeans this year, the Shanghai

Securities News said citing a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics

covering over 100,000 farmers. The paper said soybean output may reach 16

million tons in 2019, citing Zhang Jinjie, an analyst at an industry consulting

firm Zhuochuang Information. This still doesn't meet the market's annual demand

of 110 million tons, and 90% of soybeans still need to be imported, the paper

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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