Women walk past by a display showing the Shanghai stock market index outside a brokerage in Beijing, China, on November 6, 2024. Ng Han Guan/AP
CNN | Published November 8, 2024
China has approved a 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) plan to bolster its ailing economy by allowing local governments to swap out their hidden debt, unveiling additional stimulus measures to counter a potentially volatile growth path marked by the impending return of Donald Trump to the White House.
Finance Minster Lan Fo’an told a Friday press conference the six trillion yuan ($838 billion) debt limit would be made available over three years to help regional governments replace their so-called “hidden debt.” This kind of debt is normally owed by risky local government financing platforms that are backed by cities or provinces.
Lan separately added that local governments will be given access to a separate four trillion yuan ($558 billion) quota in the form of special local bonds over five years, also with the aim of trimming their debt holdings. The announcement was made at the conclusion of a five-day meeting by China’s top legislative body, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.
“Since the beginning of this year, affected by a variety of factors, the central and local fiscal revenues have fallen short of expectations,” Lan added.
Years of strict pandemic controls and a real estate crisis have drained local government coffers in China, leaving authorities across the country struggling with mountains of debt. The lack of money means governments have few resources to kick start economic growth.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.cnn.com
RELATED: China Unveils $1.4 Trillion Debt Swap to Help Local Governments
Published November 8, 2024
(Bloomberg) — China unveiled a 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) program to help resolve its local government debt crisis, as authorities moved to shore up a slowing economy facing fresh risks from the reelection of Donald Trump.
Officials fleshed out the details of a debt swap plan approved by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday. The funds for the program — already telegraphed last month but without a price tag — will be provided through 2028, they said.
Finance Minister Lan Fo’an also pledged to take a “more forceful” fiscal policy next year, and “actively” use the room for higher official deficit, in a sign that bolder steps could lie ahead.
While the scale of the local debt swap plan was close to the upper range of forecasts by most economists, it disappointed markets due to a lack of fresh public spending to promote growth. Trump’s sweeping election comeback stoked expectations for Beijing to strengthen policies boosting domestic demand to offset a potential plunge in exports due to the president-elect’s tariff threats.
“We hope to see more in terms of stimulus once China sees the impact of what has been announced so far, as well as the direction of Trump policies early next year,” said Kevin Net, head of Asian equities at Financiere de L Echiquier.
As officials outlined the contours of the debt swap plan, the offshore yuan extended its losses, down 0.6% at 7.1891 per dollar. The yield on 10-year China government bonds dropped to the lowest since September.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.bnnbloomberg.ca
Be the first to comment