MNI China Press Digest Mar 25: RRR Cuts, SME Lending

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Thursday:

• China is expected to review lenders later this month to decide on the scale of this year's inclusive finance, which lowers qualified banks' reserve ratio requirements to subsidize lending to farmers and small businesses, the 21st Century Business Herald said citing Wang Yifeng, chief banking analyst of Everbright Securities. The market expects up to only CNY100 billion, down from record CNY400 billion last year, the Herald reported. This year's program, the fourth since its launch in 2018, may come in April when liquidity is predicted to be tight due to local bond offerings, the newspaper said.
• China's program allowing SMEs to defer loan repayments was scheduled to end after the first quarter but will be extended to the end of the year, the State Council said on late Wednesday. The PBOC will continue to offer banks preferential financial support at 40% of the principals on loans lent to SMEs, the statement said. China will also extend CNY80 billion cuts in taxes and fees for manufacturers, the government said.
• The PBOC may focus on reducing the cost of financing for small companies, wrote Hu Yuexiao, chief analyst at Shanghai Securities in a front-page commentary published in Securities Times. The PPI and CPI are at levels affording authorities room to push interest rates lower, Hu said. The surging property market boosted developers' demand for financing, raising competition for loans for SMEs, the Times said.