MNI China Press Digest: Wednesday, Nov. 29

     BEIJING (MNI) - The following are highlights from the China press for

Wednesday, Nov. 29.

     China should set its GDP growth target at a lower rate than last year's

6.5%, to allow the country pursue more structural reform, Bai Chongen, a member

of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China, said at the

Caijing annual forum on Tuesday, the Economic Information Daily reported

Wednesday. China's economy only needs to expand by an average of 6.3% to realize

its target of doubling the size of the economy between 2010 and 2020, Bai said.

(Economic Information Daily)

     China should boost lending and other financial services to the construction

of rental properties to help advance its policy of supply-reform of the housing

sector, the China Securities Journal said in a commentary Wednesday. While a

dozen pilot projects have been introduced in cities including Guangzhou,

Shenzhen and Beijing, the rental housing industry is still too weak and lacks

sufficient financial backing. The size of China's rental property market is

CNY1.1 trillion, only 7% of the total property transactions, compared with a

ratio of more than 40% in more mature markets like the U.S. and Japan, the

newspaper said. There should be more involvement by commercial banks and real

estate investment trusts, the newspaper said. (China Securities Journal)

     Nine Chinese provinces will begin collecting water resource taxes to help

conserve water and curb unreasonable usage, the People's Daily reported on

Wednesday. Starting Dec. 1, provinces including Beijing, Henan and Shandong,

will levy higher taxes on ground aquifers, areas where water resource is

depleted, or amounts that exceed allotments, the daily said. (People's Daily)

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