MNI China Press Digest, Nov 8: PBOC Sells Bills, Yuan, Import

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

Thursday:

     The People's Bank of China's issuance of CNY20 billion bills in Hong Kong

on Wednesday was to deter speculators shorting the offshore yuan, reported

Economic View owned by China News Service, citing Cai Hao, a researcher at the

National Institution for Finance & Development. The move will drain the

liquidity in the offshore market and increase the cost of shorting yuan, Cai was

reported as saying. The relatively smaller amount means the step served as a

warning, Cai said. The PBOC yesterday issued CNY10 billion 3-month bills at

3.79%, and CNY10 billion 1-year bills at 4.2% in Hong Kong, Economic View said.

(Link to story: https://bit.ly/2yX1DHb)

     The increasing usage of the yuan in global markets helps ease the pressure

on China's shrinking foreign exchange reserves, the 21st Century Business Herald

said citing an anonymous source in a foreign bank. More companies settling

cross-border trade and investment in yuan led to lower demand for the U.S.

dollar, reducing the pressure on banks Fx sales, the newspaper cited the source

as saying. The yuan is more accepted in Southeast Asia, but less often in the

Middle East and Africa, the newspaper said citing sources in major state-owned

banks. The usage of the yuan in importing commodities is still small, which

consumes China's Fx reserves, the newspaper said. (Link to story:

https://bit.ly/2JNycvl)

     China's strategy of opening needs to adapt to new international economic

and trade situations, shifting from relying on exports to focusing on imports,

from striving to be a nation selling large quantities of commodities to a great

source of capital, Caixin said citing Huang Qifan, vice chairman of the China

Center for International Economic Exchanges and former mayor of Chongqing city.

(Link to the story: https://bit.ly/2ASeTy4)

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: wanxia.lin@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

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