China Economic Watch: Top Four Lenders Chilled by Loans & Deposits; Private Investment Active in Clean Energy

Top Four Lenders Chilled by Loans, Deposits
China's biggest four state-backed banks extended just ¥34 billion in loans in the first three weeks of May, when deposits with them shrank ¥270 billion, a person with knowledge of the issue told the 21st Century Business Herald. Bank loans across the nation fell from over ¥1 trillion in March to ¥681 billion in April, according to central bank figures.

World Bank Cuts China Growth Forecast
The World Bank revised down its forecast for China's economic growth this year by a fifth of a percentage point to 8.2%, citing slack demand from Europe and the US and the cooling domestic real estate market. Morgan Stanley yesterday cuts its forecast for China's economic growth by half a percentage point to 8.5% after April economic data turned out much weaker than expected

Credit Cards Pay ¥2.8t in Q1
The value of transactions paid by credit cards in China rose 33.2% year on year and 7.1% quarter on quarter to ¥2.79 trillion in Q1 2012, a central bank report has found. There were 3.1 billion bank cards in circulation in the country as of the end of March, up 5.2% from a quarter earlier and up 21.5% from a year earlier, the report added.

China's Spending on Business Travel Tops $182b
Chinese spending on business trips totalled $182 billion in 2011, second only to the US, according to the Global Business Travel Association. It is predicted that Chinese spending on business travel will total $202 billion this year and $245 billion next year.

Private Investment Active in Clean Energy
Private investment in China's alternative and renewable energy sector has exceeded ¥800 billion, and the capacity of clean energy-generated, privately-funded electricity adds up to 49 million kW, or 18% of the nation's total capacity powered by alternative and renewable energy, the National Energy Administration said.

Small Firms Allowed to Sell Bonds
China's two stock exchanges moved to allow small firms to sell bonds via private placement, opening another fundraising avenue for the country's cash-strapped small-business sector, the Wall Street Journal reported. Over the past year, small, private businesses in China have been facing a credit squeeze, caught between previous tight monetary policies and falling global demand for their products.

$1 = ¥6.33