MNI China Press Digest, Nov 29: Special Bond, Bank, Mortgage

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

on Friday:

     China's issuance of infrastructure-backed special purpose bonds is expected

to reach CNY820 billion in Q1 2020, the Securities Daily reports. Citing Zhu

Jianfang, chief economist at Citic Securities, the Daily says this is an

increase of around CNY154 billion on the same period in 2019. Zhu estimated that

70% of the new special bonds will be used in infrastructure projects, equivalent

to around CNY574 billion, representing a significant boost to infrastructure

investment.

     The Financial Stability and Development Committee, China's top financial

regulator, will balance targets of stable growth, managing risk while also

looking to enhance the capital strength of smaller commercial banks, reports

Securities Times. Citing a meeting of the Committee on Thursday, the Times'

report says this is the fourth consecutive meeting at which the regulator has

emphasised support for the replenishment of bank capital, comments which come

amid increased exposure of non-performing loans and the need for more credit

support for the real economy.

     Interest rates for home mortgages have not moved in tandem with the lowered

5-year guiding price set by the PBOC last week, 21st Century Business Herald

reports. Citing a research paper from the Rong 360 Big Data Institute, the

Herald says the average interest rate for first home mortgages stood at 5.53% in

November, 1 bp higher than the previous month. In comparison, the PBOC trimmed

the 5-year Loan Prime Rate by 5 bp to 4.80% last week.

     Changes to the PBOC's balance sheet do not give a sufficient indication on

the direction of monetary policy, according to an op-ed published in the

Economic Daily. The article by Dong Ximiao, a researcher with the National

Institution for Finance and Development, says that market liquidity is currently

adequate despite the slowing growth in the balance sheet.

--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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