2020-03-26 Beijing Review

6 BEIJING REVIEW MARCH 26, 2020 http://www.bjreview.com

THIS WEEKECONOMY

Export Rebate

China raised export rebate rates
for 1,464 types of products start-
ing on March 20.
The rebate rate for 1,084 prod-
ucts including ceramic sanitary
ware was increased to 13 percent,
and that for 380 goods includ-
ing plant growth regulators to 9
percent, according to the Ministry
of Finance and the State Taxation
Administration.
Higher export rebate rates
will facilitate foreign trade by
lowering operating costs and
easing cash shortages for manu-
facturers, Li Xuhong, a professor
at the Beijing National Accounting
Institute, said.

Bank Profits

A majority of listed banks re-
ported robust net pro³ t growth in
2019, Economic Information Daily
said on March 17.

As of March 16, 24 of the

36 listed banks on the A-share

market had released preliminary

earning results, with their total net

pro³ ts reaching 439.1 billion yuan

($62.7 billion), up 10.9 percent

year on year.

Altogether 19 listed banks saw

net pro³ t growth of more than 10

percent, the paper reported.

The forecasts came amid a

solid expansion of the Chinese

economy in 2019 when banks’

capital adequacy ratio improved

and their capability to serve the

real economy and resist risks

strengthened, Wen Bin, chief re-

searcher with the China Minsheng

Bank, told the paper.

China’s listed banks have

continuously improved their asset

quality and pro³ tability, he added.

Targeted RRR Cuts

The People’s Bank of China, the

central bank, has implemented

sonably suf³ cient liquidity instead

of engaging in a deluge of strong

stimulus policies.

The growth of loans and

social ³ nancing should be in line

with economic development to

create an appropriate monetary

and ³ nancial environment for

high-quality development and

supply-side structural reform, it

said.

This is the second time for

China to implement RRR cuts this

year. On January 1, the central

bank announced it would cut the

RRR for ³ nancial institutions by

50 basis points from January 6,

releasing about 800 billion yuan

($114.19 billion) of long-term

liquidity.

Steady Growth

The iron and steel sector in China

saw overall stable growth in 2019,

as the continued effort to cut

overcapacity ³ ltered through, ac-

cording to the Ministry of Industry

and Information Technology

(MIIT).

The output of crude steel

saw an 8.3-percent growth to

stand at 996 million tons in

2019, marking a new all-time

high, while pig iron output went

up 5.3 percent from one year

earlier to 809 million tons, data

from the MIIT showed.

Driven by the rising market

demand, the total consumption

of crude steel across the country

reached about 940 million tons,

up 8 percent year on year.

The industry, however,

reported remarkable shrinking in

pro³ t led by factors like acceler-

ated output growth, higher costs

of raw materials as well as lower

prices of steel products.

The aggregate pro³ t of

China Iron and Steel Industry

Association members totaled 189

billion yuan ($27 billion) in the

past year, 30.9 percent lower than

the previous year.

Meanwhile, the exports and

imports of steel products contract-

targeted reserve requirement ratio

(RRR) cuts for eligible banks from

March 16 to support the economy.

The move has released 550 billion

yuan ($78.57 billion) of long-term

funds.

The cuts target inclusive

³ nance, and banks that meet the

criteria in inclusive ³ nance can en-

joy 50 to 100 basis points of RRR

cuts. In addition, eligible joint-

stock commercial banks will be

given an additional targeted RRR

cut of 100 basis points to support

lending in inclusive ³ nance.

According to the central bank,

it will help reduce the real interest

rates of loans for small, micro and

private enterprises and bolster

the real economy more directly.

The central bank will implement

a prudent monetary policy in a

́ exible and appropriate manner

and give more attention to the

recovery and development of the

real economy. It will maintain rea-

XIN

HU

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Flower Power

A staff member arranges ́ owers in an industrial park in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province in north China, on March 14. As the
demand for ́ ower grows, local ́ ower growers have increased production to ensure supply.