MNI China Press Digest Sep 21:Premier Li, Housing, Coal Prices

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Thursday:

• Provincial authorities in China must take responsibility for the settlement of local government and corporate arrears in their regions, according to Premier Li Qiang. Li, presiding over an executive meeting of the State Council, said policymakers can begin in-depth research to plan next year's economic work, and further consolidate the continued recovery of the economy. Authorities should take action to support all types of business and give full play to the creation of the national unified market, Li said. (Source: 21st Century Business Herald)
• Guangzhou will became the first tier-one city to lift purchase restrictions in its peripheral areas – Huangpu, Panyu and Huadu districts. The city's other six districts remain restricted, limiting local residency families to two house purchases and one house for non-locals. However, non-local buyers will now need to pay only two years of social security in Guangzhou to qualify for homebuying, down from five years. Guangzhou urgently needs to boost market sentiment as its new home transactions have fallen for five consecutive months. The relaxation of mortgage rules earlier this month only brought a 20% increase in transactions in Guangzhou, compared with the doubled volumes recorded in Beijing and Shanghai, according to China Index Academy. (Source: 21st Century Business Herald)
• China coal prices could see a mild increase in the near term as the industry fills up storage capacity in preparation for winter, Lin Boqiang, dean at the China Energy Policy Research Institute at Xiamen University, told Yicai. The paper noted coal prices have bottomed out and seen a 5% rebound since late August. Lin said although prices may rise further, a return to high price levels seen last year remains unlikely. Xu Hui, secretary of the board of directors at Hengding Industrial, told Yicai rising commodities abroad have driven the recent rise in coal prices, along with domestic manufacturing and exports performing well. Additionally, authorities' recent introduction of output-restriction policies had also affected coal prices. (Source: Yicai)