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April 5 - China's bank lending will grow 15.5% year on year to ¥880 billion in March and total ¥8 trillion to ¥8.5 trillion this year, Bank of Communications Co (SHA: 601328, HKG: 3328) estimated. The nation's fifth largest lender cast a pall over interest rate cuts but was positive of reserve ratio cuts following moderately eased monetary policies.
March 30 - The average annual salary in Shanghai grew 10.9% to ¥52,655 in 2011, with the financial, power generation and water supply industries topping the rankings with ¥167,173, ¥99,457 and ¥95,958 respectively, according to the city's statistics bureau. The civil services, hospitality and agriculture industries reported the lowest salaries of ¥23,242, ¥30,439 and ¥31,765 respectively last year.
March 30 - France's Credit Agricole SA is in talks with China's Citic Securities Co (SHA: 600030, HKG: 6030) for the sale of its Hong-Kong based brokerage business CLSA, Bloomberg reported, citing announcements from the two companies. Credit Agricole is doing so for restructuring aimed at meeting tough new financial regulations amid Europe's debt crisis.
March 29 - Private lenders in Wenzhou, a city in Zhejiang province known for entrepreneurship and active underground lending, would be officially allowed to lend to small and midsized businesses, and local residents would be allowed to invest in foreign capital markets, said Su Xiangqing, head of the Wenzhou Bureau of Commerce. The reforms come as China moves to overhaul its rigid and inefficient financial system, in which smaller firms always have difficulty borrowing from banks that tend to court rich state-owned companies. A total of $200 million quota, or $3 million per individual, would be given to Wenzhou residents to establish, acquire, invest, and plow back proceeds in nonfinancial companies in foreign markets. The policies are subject to change.
March 26 - Around 20% of China's outstanding local government debts have been wrongly categorized as "safe," Bloomberg reported, citing a source from the nation's banking regulator. The risks of up to ¥1.8 trillion of local government debts were underestimated, and they should be redefined, the source said.
March 22 - China's premium incomes rose 18.9% year on year to ¥327.89 billion in February, including ¥246.06 billion from life insurance policies and ¥81.83 billion from property insurance policies, which were up 3.8% and 14.9% year on year respectively.
March 21 - JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JMP) agreed to buy a 19.9% stake in Zhengzhou, Henan province-based Bridge Trust Co, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the situation. Bridge Trust is majority owned by state-controlled China Power Investment Financial Co. Trust companies in China offer services in wealth management, private equity and securities investments. Foreign investment in China's trust companies is limited to 20%.
March 12 - China's banks extended ¥710.7 billion in Renminbi-denominated loans in February, ¥173 billion more than in the same month a year ago, according to figures from the central bank. Renminbi-denominated deposits increased by ¥1.6 trillion last month, ¥282.4 billion more than a year earlier.
March 12 - It is an overstatement that China's banks have benefited from profiteering, instead they will continue to face capital restraints this year, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said during a press conference for the nation's annual parliamentary sessions, citing the facts that Chinese lenders reported ¥1.04 trillion in net profit out of ¥113.28 trillion in total assets in 2011.
March 12 - China has much room to cut banks' reserve requirement ratio, and this will depend on factors like the international balance of payments, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said during a press conference for the nation's annual parliamentary sessions. Zhou, the head of the People's Bank of China, stressed that the government would ramp up investment in debt-ridden Europe, and expected two-way movements in the Renminbi's exchange rate that will be increasingly subjected to market forces.
March 5 - China will likely allow the issuance of high-yield bonds – also known as junk bonds – in 1H 2012 in a move to help small businesses fund their growth, Guo Shuqing, director of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said on the sidelines of the ongoing annual sessions of the National People's Congress.
$1 = ¥6.3
@2011 China Economy @ The China Perspective.
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