Page 13 - China Economic Growth

China expands access to loans for developers, acting to end debt crisis

China has rolled out new rules meant to expand access to commercial bank loans for property developers as Beijing doubles down on its effort to end a prolonged crisis in the real estate industry. The policies will allow real estate companies to use bank loans pledged against commercial properties such as offices and shopping malls to repay their other loans and bonds and to cover operating expenses. They were announced late Wednesday by the People's Bank of China, the National Financial Regulatory Administration and the Finance Ministry. Beijing has moved this week to stabilise ailing financial markets and boost the economy by freeing up more money for lending in various ways. That includes cutting required bank reserves. The flurry of new measures and pronouncements from senior Communist Party officials about the need to stabilise financial markets and build confidence in the economy, the world's second largest, appears to reflect a renewed determination to get growth back on ...

China cuts reserve requirements for bank to help boost its slowing economy

China's central bank said Wednesday it will cut the ratio of reserves banks must hold to help boost the slowing economy. The announcement by the People's Bank of China prompted a surge in share prices in Chinese markets, with Hong Kong's benchmark jumping 3.6%. Central bank Gov. Pan Gongsheng said the deposit reserve requirement would be cut by 0.5% as of Feb. 5. Pan said that would inject about 1 trillion yuan ($141 billion) into the economy. He told reporters in Beijing that the central bank also soon plans to issue a policy on lending to property developers to help support the industry.

12.44 mn urban jobs added in 2023, more effort needed this year: China

For the full year of 2023, the average nationwide survey-based jobless rate dropped to 5.2 per cent from 5.6 per cent in 2022

7.1-magnitude earthquake rattles part of western China, leaving 6 injured

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck a remote part of China's western Xinjiang region early Tuesday, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. Xinhua cited the China Earthquake Networks Centre as saying the quake rocked Wushu county in Aksu prefecture shortly after 2 am local time. The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred in the Tian Shan mountain range, a seismically active region, though earthquakes of this size occur somewhat infrequently. It said the largest quake in the area in the past century was a 7.1-magnitude one in 1978 about 200 kilometres to the north of one early Tuesday. State broadcaster CCTV said there were several aftershocks since the main quake, registering up to 4.5 magnitude. Tremors were felt as far away as the neighboring countries Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In the Kazakh capital of Almaty, people left their homes, the Russian news agency Tass reported.

Oil drops slightly on China demand concerns but records weekly gain

Brent futures settled 54 cents lower at $78.56 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 67 cents to settle at $73.41

Suspicions arise on accuracy of China's official GDP growth data: Report

One divergence centers around Beijing's investment data, which shows surging manufacturing and infrastructure spending outweighed the drag from property

China's economy expanded 5.2% in 2023, though recovery seems uneven

China's economy for the October-December quarter grew at a quicker rate, allowing the Chinese government to hit its target of about 5 per cent annual growth for 2023 even though trade data and the economic recovery remain uneven. Official data released on Wednesday showed that the Chinese economy grew 5.2 per cent for 2023, surpassing the target of about 5 per cent that the government had set. The growth for 2023 is likely helped by 2022's GDP of just 3 per cent as China's economy slowed due to COVID-19 and nationwide lockdowns during the pandemic. For the fourth quarter, China's gross domestic product also grew at 5.2 per cent compared to the same time last year. On a quarterly basis, the economy rose 1 per cent in Q4, slowing from the expansion of 1.3 per cent in July-September. Officials from China's National Bureau of Statistics said that measures including strengthened macro regulation, and redoubled efforts to expand domestic demand, optimize structure, boost confidence and .

Chinese exports decline 4.6% after seven years amid economic crisis

Amid the economic crisis, Chinese exports saw a downfall for the first time since 2016 after global demand for Chinese-made goods slowed in 2023

China's exports rise, but deflation persists as economy enters 2024

Analysts also anticipate that interest rates will drop at least 1.5 percentage points in the United States and Europe this year, which should improve demand for imported goods

India gave strong investment performance in 2023; headwinds in China: UN

India registered strong investment performance in 2023, driven by government infrastructure projects and multinational investments, the United Nations has said while noting that investment prospects in China face "headwinds" from a struggling property sector. The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2024 report, launched here on Thursday, said that investment has been more resilient in developing economies than in developed economies. Investment in South Asia, particularly in India, remained strong in 2023. Investment prospects in China face headwinds from a struggling property sector, though government-led infrastructure investments are partially offsetting the shortfall in private investments. In contrast, India registered strong investment performance in 2023, driven by government infrastructure projects and multinational investments, the report said. Among the developing regions, Africa, Western Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean continue to struggle with high

China expects int'l flights reaching 80% of pre-Covid levels by 2024 end

It added that for the year ahead it would continue to promote a "significant" increase in direct flights between China and the United States from 63 flights presently

Chinese workers witness biggest decline in hiring salaries on record

It's also the third straight quarter of decline, the longest run since data on yearly changes were first available in 2016

China's factory activity slows in Dec, indicating economy is still sluggish

A survey of factory managers in China shows that manufacturing contracted in December in the latest sign the world's No. 2 economy remains sluggish. The official purchasing managers index, or PMI, fell to 49 last month in what officials said was evidence of weak demand, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Sunday. It was the third straight month of contraction. The PMI is on a scale up to 100 where 50 marks the cutoff between expansion and contraction. The index has fallen in eight of the past nine months, with an increase only in September. In November, the index was at 49.4, down from 49.5 the month before. Despite unexpectedly prolonged weakness after the pandemic, China's economy grew at a 5.2 per cent pace in the first three quarters of the year and showed signs of improvement in November, with factory output and retail sales rising. In recent months, the government has raised spending on construction of ports and other infrastructure, cut interest rates and eased cur

US companies picky about investing in China, but keen on burgers, lattes

There's been no shortage of tough news for China's economy as some of the world's biggest brands consider or take action to shift manufacturing to friendlier shores at a time of unease about security controls, protectionism and wobbly relations between Beijing and Washington. Count Adidas, Apple and Samsung among those looking elsewhere. But as a tumultuous 2023 for the Chinese economy comes to a close, there has been at least one bright spot for Beijing when it comes to foreign investment: American fast-food chains have decided a market of 1.4 billion people is simply too delicious to pass up. KFC China's parent company opened its 10,000th restaurant in China last month and aims to have stores within reach of half of China's population by 2026. McDonald's is planning to open 3,500 new stores in China over the next four years. And Starbucks invested $220 million in a manufacturing and distribution facility in eastern China, its biggest project outside the U.S. This is surely not wh

China's top political advisory body CPPCC removes 3 defence executives

CASIC is a state-owned enterprise that makes spacecraft and missile systems, while Norinco is a weapons producer for the People's Liberation Army

China gaming companies unveil share buybacks after govt curbs cause rout

It remains to be seen how shares of Tencent Holdings , the world's biggest gaming company and its closest rival, NetEase, will fare this week after the apparent softening in stance from the regulator

Whisky woos young Chinese as top distillers target growing market

A distillery in southwestern China is aiming to tap a growing taste among young Chinese for whisky in place of the traditional baijiu liquor used to toast festive occasions. The more than USD 100 million distillery owned by Pernod Ricard at the UNESCO World Heritage site Mount Emei launched a pure-malt whisky, The Chuan, earlier this month. The French wine and spirits group says it is produced using traditional whisky-making techniques combined with Chinese characteristics including locally grown barley and barrels made with oak from the Changbai mountains in northeastern China. Chinese terroir means an exceptional and unique environment for aging, including the water source here top-notch mineral water. The source of water at Mount Emei is very famous," says Yang Tao, master distiller at the distillery. A centuries-old drink, whisky is relatively new to China, but there are already more than 30 whisky distilleries in the mainland, according to the whisky website Billion ...

China to run budget gap of 3% of GDP in 2024, issue special debt: Report

"The 2024 deficit ratio is set to be 3% and the insufficient part can be supplemented by special sovereign debt," one of the sources said

Millions of Chinese blacklisted for debts as loan default hits record: Rpt

As China's economy struggles to recover and unemployment remains high, the indebted population is growing, the report added

China's economy may slow sharply in 2024, recovery fragile: World Bank

China's economy will slow next year, with annual growth falling to 4.5% from 5.2% this year despite a recent recovery spurred by investments in factories and construction and in demand for services, the World Bank said in a report issued Thursday. The report said the recovery of the world's second-largest economy from setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic, among other shocks, remains fragile, dogged by weakness in the property sector and in global demand for China's exports, high debt levels and wavering consumer confidence. The estimate that growth would be around 5% this year but then fall in coming months was in line with other forecasts. Growth is expected to slow further in 2025, to 4.3% from 4.5% next year, the World Bank said. The economy has yoyoed in the past few years, with growth ranging from 2.2% in 2020 to 8.4% in 2021 and 3% last year. Stringent limits on travel and other activities during the pandemic hit manufacturing and transport. Job losses due to those disruptions an