MNI China Press, March 6: Reserve Ratios, SOE Debt, NDRC

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

Tuesday:

     China may begin a round of reduction in banks' required reserve ratios this

year to meet liquidity demand, reported China Securities Journal, citing

analysts. The People's Bank of China is moving towards price-based tools for

managing monetary supply and away from quantity-based tools, after the

government scrapped targets of growth for M2 and social financing, the official

newspaper said. Policymakers will take a more flexible approach free from

meeting targets, it said. 

     China plans to roll out measures to cut debt holdings by state-owned

companies in the first half of this year, China Securities Journal reported,

citing Xiao Yaqing, the chairman of State-owned Assets Supervision and

Administration Commission. The commission has begun soliciting input on

guidelines for SOEs' deleveraging, debt reduction and financial risk prevention,

Journal said, citing Xiao. Xiao said SOEs' debt level has declined, with

debt-to-asset ratio averaging 66.3% at the end of 2017, which was a reduction of

0.4 percentage point from a year ago, according to the Journal. 

The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top planner, plans to

raise the bar for cities that can apply to construct subways, The Paper reported

late Monday, citing a draft of rules issued to solicit feedback. Cities that

want to build subways must have fiscal revenue of at least CNY30 billion, a bar

that is three times more than the previous standard, Paper said. The

requirements for GDP and population sizes will also be increased to pass

consideration, Paper said. 

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

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86-10-8532-5998; email: beijing@marketnews.com

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