MNI China Press Digest Nov 22: PBOC, Yuan, 2023 Growth

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Tuesday:

• The People’s Bank of China is set to provide CNY200 billion of interest-free refinancing funds to commercial banks to ensure the delivery of unfinished housing projects, Yicai.com reported. It will support the accelerated construction and delivery of projects that have been sold but are overdue and have been identified by the financial management department. It is a new phased policy, aiming to reassure banks and local governments to offer help and resolve outstanding loan risks, the newspaper said. The program is currently seeking industry comments, Yicai added.
• The yuan will continue to be resilient during the current U.S. dollar appreciation cycle, and is increasingly considered a “safe haven”, Pan Gongsheng, Vice Governor of PBOC and director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, told the 2022 Financial Street Forum annual meeting on Monday. Pan said the yuan's resilience reflects its two-way floating exchange rate, China’s current account surplus, relatively stable cross border capital flows, the yuan's increasing internationalisation, and use of hedging tools. He believed the US dollar appreciation cycle may be peaking, and the recent 20-point Covid-control relaxation plan and 16-point real-estate package would support China's growth.
• China should set its 2023 growth target at around 5%, which would match the country’s potential growth level, support employment, prevent risks and boost market confidence, 21st Century Business Herald reported citing Zhu Baoliang, chief economist of the State Information Center. Given the low base this year, the economy is expected to achieve a growth rate of 5% or even higher, as real estate investment may stop declining and retail sales could rebound, the newspaper said citing Zhang Yongjun, deputy chief economist at China Center for International Economic Exchanges. Zhang added that next year’s proactive fiscal policy should be strengthened, and monetary policy should remain relatively loose, the newspaper said.