MNI China Press Digest Mar 31:More Liquidity, SME, Bank Profit

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Wednesday:

• The PBOC is likely to inject more liquidity in April via reverse repos and medium-term lending facilities to meet demand for tax payments and the issuance of local government debts, the China Securities Journal reported citing analysts. There will be a liquidity gap of around CNY300 billion in the banking system if the PBOC doesn't make any injections, the newspaper said citing Sun Binbin, analyst at Tianfeng Securities. The PBOC has made no net injections in the past three weeks, the newspaper said.
• China will step up support for small businesses, including providing more financial and fiscal support, to revive weak private investment and further this year's growth momentum, the Economic Information Daily said in an analysis of the current state of the economy. While growth is likely to exceed 10% in Q1, partly due to last year's lower base of comparison, central and local planning and finance officials are urging quicker starts for infrastructure investment projects and more tax cuts to prevent a slowdown later this year, the newspaper said.
• Postal Savings Bank of China led the country's top six national banks with 5% growth in net profits last year, followed by Bank of China with 3% while the other four including ICBC registered around 1%, the 21st Century Business Herald reported citing the annual reports. Profits of the six majors totaled CNY1.34 trillion, it said. The China Construction Bank saw its NPL rise by 0.14 percentage point to 1.56%, and increased provisions dragged its profit growth to 1.6% from 5.3% in the previous year, the newspaper said.
• China will promote high-quality development of the central region and the greater opening of inland provinces, according to a statement on the government website following a top Politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping on Tuesday. The Central region should focus on building modern industries supported by advanced manufacturing along with the urbanization of the Central Plains, the statement said. The region should promote low-carbon industries and environmentally sound development, the government said.