Published October 8, 2024
China’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), held a press conference on Tuesday morning
NDRC chairman Zheng Shanjie, as well as deputy heads Liu Sushe, Zhao Chenxin, Li Chunlin and Zheng Bei, unveiled a wide-ranging action plan.
Timed for the first workday after the weeklong “golden week” National Day holiday, the event followed the flurry of reforms unveiled at the end of last month.
‘Doesn’t mean there won’t be fiscal stimulus,’ analyst says
Ding Shuang, chief economist for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong, draws a correlation between the Hong Kong stock market drop and the NDRC event.
“It looks very much related,” he said. “The only driver [for stocks] is today’s NDRC event. Market expectations were high … The stock market, especially, had high expectations. But this is the NDRC, not the Ministry of Finance. Even though they didn’t announce fiscal stimulus today, that doesn’t mean there won’t be fiscal stimulus.”
Ding expects fiscal stimulus measures to be announced by month’s end.
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SOURCE: www.scmp.com
RELATED: China holds off on fresh stimulus but ‘confident’ will hit growth target
A Chinese national flag flutters near the Friendship Bridge and Broken Bridge over the Yalu River, which separates North Korea’s Sinuiju from China, in Dandong, Liaoning province, China on Apr 21, 2021. (File photo: REUTERS/Tingshu Wang)
Published October 8, 2024
BEIJING: China said on Tuesday (Oct 8) it was “fully confident” of hitting its growth target this year but held off more stimulus, disappointing markets and fuelling concern about a lack of detail on a raft of measures unveiled last month.
Beijing has struggled to reignite business activity as officials target around 5 per cent expansion, which analysts say is optimistic given the numerous headwinds, from a prolonged housing crisis to sluggish consumption and local government debt.
All eyes were on a news conference led by Zheng Shanjie, head of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, on Tuesday, and investors hoped Beijing would unveil more economy-boosting policies.
But Zheng and colleagues refrained from laying out any new stimulus – instead reiterating that “the fundamentals of our country’s economic development have not changed”.
“We are fully confident in achieving the goals of economic and societal development for the year,” the top economic planner said.
“We are also fully confident in maintaining stable, healthy and sustainable development,” he added.
Markets in mainland China had soared 10 per cent on the opening as traders resumed a blistering rally after a week-long break hoping for more measures from Beijing.
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SOURCE: www.channelnewsasia.com
