MNI China Press Digest Nov 28: Private Sector, PBOC, Bonds

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Tuesday:

• Chinese authorities have ordered banking institutions to increase gradually the proportion of loans to private companies and set annual targets to raise services offered to private enterprises in their performance appraisals, according to a list of 25 measures released by the People’s Bank of China and seven other departments on Monday aimed at improving private enterprise. Companies in technological innovation, green and low-carbon areas would benefit most, and banks should reasonably increase the tolerance of non-performing loans of private companies by establishing exemption mechanisms, the document said. (Source: PBOC Website)
• China’s economy has a solid foundation to achieve its end of year economic goals following Q3 GDP growth of 4.9%, according to the People’s Bank of China’s third quarter annual report. Going forward, policymakers will pay more attention to cross-cyclical and counter-cyclical adjustments and promote the steady decline in real-economy financing costs using the guiding role of policy interest rates. The PBOC will also adjust housing credit policies and lower mortgage interest rates and existing first-home loan interest rates. Authorities will also deepen market-oriented reforms and maintain the basic stability of the yuan at a reasonable and balanced level.
• China will approve the advancement of CNY2.28 trillion of new special bonds before year end, according to experts interviewed by Securities Daily. Song Xiangqing, vice president at the Industrial Economic Research Center, said the government needed to advance the bonds to expand effective investment in local construction projects and stabilise the macroeconomy. Feng Lin, senior analyst at Oriental Jincheng Research, said policymakers must keep infrastructure investment high to maintain a stable GDP growth rate. (Source: Securities Daily)