Asia

Changshu City in east China's Jiangsu Province will start paying salaries of all civil servants and state-owned units in digital RMB from May, Shanghai Securities News reported on Saturday, citing the local financial supervisory authority and financial bureau. Such attempts have already been made in multiple cities since last year. According to the public WeChat account "Taicang Finance", all employees in 59 municipal-level departments, eight district and town administrative institutions, and state-owned enterprises in Taicang City of Jiangsu Province have been paid in digital RMB since July 2022. Domestic media reports that in March 2022, 64 high-level talents in key industries in Xiangcheng District of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province received talent subsidies totaling 235,000 yua...

China's central bank injected funds into the financial system through open market operations Tuesday. The People's Bank of China said it has conducted 170 billion yuan (about 24.69 billion U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 2 percent. The move aims to keep month-end liquidity in the banking system stable, according to the central bank. A reverse repo is a process in which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.

Oil prices slipped in early trade on Tuesday, paring gains from the previous session, as investors weighed strong holiday travel in China that could boost fuel demand with the prospect of rising interest rates elsewhere slowing economic growth. Brent crude fell 7 cents to $82.66 a barrel at 0013 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude eased 6 cents to $78.70 a barrel. Oil futures rose more than 1 per cent on Monday on optimism that holiday travel in China would increase demand in the world's largest oil importer. Bookings in China for trips abroad during the upcoming May Day holiday point to a continued recovery in travel to Asian countries. Still, the numbers remain far off pre-COVID-19 levels with long-haul airfares soaring and not enough flights available. However, inves...

Mainland banks have been told by authorities to lower saving rates in wake of "huge inflows" into savings and deposits accounts. Members of China's "interest rate self-regulatory mechanism," mostly banks, met this month and were urged to lower deposit rates, according to two attendees and two other bank sources who were closely briefed on the meeting. The guidance comes as banks and the economy groan under the weight of the huge inflows and businesses grapple with debt risks, structural woes and a slowing global economy.  One of the country's "big four" state lenders plans to start cutting certain personal and corporate rates from next week, another person briefed on the plans said. Products to be affected include "call deposits" and "agreement deposits". Other people fam...

China has made great progress opening up its financial markets to the world but still needs to speed up the process. Beijing wants broader acceptance of the renminbi as an international medium of exchange and for it to become a more popular reserve currency, but its share of the global official reserves market still only stands at a meagre 2.7 per cent. The challenge is how to break into the big time and take on the euro’s share at 20 per cent of the market, let alone challenge the US dollar’s dominance with a 58 per cent market share. Beijing still has some way to go to fully internationalise its currency, opening up its markets to all-comers and building global confidence in China as a safe enclave for investors. The dilemma is opening up China’s financial mark...

China's job market witnessed stable improvement in the first quarter (Q1) this year as labor demand grew stronger amid a robust economic recovery. The surveyed urban unemployment rate dropped to 5.3 percent in March, down from 5.6 percent in February and also lower than 5.8 percent a year ago, and the number of new jobs created in the first three months stood at 2.97 million, up by 120,000 year on year, data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security showed. The employment situation gradually improved and largely remained stable thanks to a smooth shift in COVID-19 response and effective policies to stabilize the economy, Chen Yongjia, an official of the ministry, told a press conference on Monday. China aims to add 12 million jobs in cities this year and keep its j...

According to him, the bilateral trade between India and China hit a new high of USD 136 billion last year, with USD 118 billion of Chinese exports to India and USD 18 billion of Indian exports to China. Kong Xianhua, China's consul general in the hub of finance, emphasized on Tuesday that there is a huge possibility to increase Indian exports to the northern nation.At a promotion event for the China International Import Expo, Mr. Xianhua acknowledged the significant trade imbalance in his country's favor. "…give more emphasis to China, 'Make in India' should embrace Chinese market," Mr. Xianhua advised the sector. According to him, the bilateral trade between India and China hit a new high of USD 136 billion last year, with USD 118 billion of Chinese exports to India and USD 18 b...

Jamie McGeever provides a preview of the Asian markets for the next day. Tuesday's attention for investors is firmly on China: Eyes are on a wide range of economic and market statistics, including the first-quarter GDP, while the most recent development in the deteriorating U.S.-Sino ties will not lessen geopolitical worries. As part of a campaign against Beijing's suspected targeting of dissidents in the United States, American law enforcement officers detained two New York residents on Monday for allegedly running a Chinese "secret police station" in Manhattan's Chinatown. Also on Monday, U.S. authorities announced charges against 34 Chinese officials for allegedly running a "troll farm" and harassing opposition figures online, including by interrupting meetings on American tec...

China's overall government debt ratio remains low compared with other major economies, and the country's local government bond debt risk is controllable, as a strong economic rebound provides support for local government financing vehicles' (LGFVs) debt repayment capability, analysts said. The comment came after a new round of Western media hype over China's alleged local government debt problem while choosing to neglect facts as well as the Chinese central government and provinces' efforts in dissolving local government debt. For example, the New York Times plastered the sensational headline "China's cities are buried in debt," and the Economist claims that "China's cities are on the verge of a debt crisis." Chinese local government debt includes outstanding local government bonds ...