Special Report: Global Financial Crisis
BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign
exchange reserves rose 16 percent year-on-year to 1.9537 trillion U.S. dollars
by the end of March, said the People's Bank of China on Saturday.
It represents an increase of 7.7 billion dollars for
the first quarter, but the increase was 146.2 billion dollars lower than the
same period of last year.
Outstanding foreign currency loans stood at 235.2
billion U.S. dollars by the end of March, down 11.7 percent year on year.
In the first quarter, foreign currency loans dropped
by 8.5 billion U.S. dollars. The decline was 57.3 billion U.S. dollars heavier
over the same period of last year.
In March, foreign currency loans rose by 4.3 billion
U.S. dollars. The increase was 6.4 billion U.S. dollars lower than the same
period of last year.
Meanwhile, outstanding foreign currency deposits rose
28.9 percent, or 7.5 billion U.S. dollars, to 200.3 billion U.S. dollars in the
first quarter. The increase was 13 billion U.S. dollars higher over the same
period of last year.
In March alone, foreign currency deposits rose by 3.3
billion U.S. dollars. The increase was 1.8 billion U.S. dollars higher over the
same month in 2008.
Analysts said the smaller growth of foreign exchange
reserves in the first quarter was related with changes in the value of
non-U.S.-dollar assets and money flows under the capital account.
In March alone, the foreign exchange reserves rose by
41.7 billion U.S. dollars. The increase was 6.7 billion U.S. dollars higher than
the corresponding period of last year.
The country's foreign exchange reserves reduced to
1.914 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of January and 1.912 trillion U.S.
dollars at the end of February.
"Changes of foreign exchange reserves in the first
quarter were mainly driven by non-U.S.-dollar assets' volatile fluctuation,"
said Liu Yuhui, an economist with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
During the first quarter, especially the first two
months, non-dollar foreign currencies dropped heavily against the U.S. dollar,
leaving about 40 percent of the country's non-dollar assets depreciated.
Meanwhile, the country's trade surplus had reduced
during the first quarter due to a weakening external demand.
Exports fell 17.5 percent in January, 25.7 percent in
February and 17.1 percent in March. In February, trade surplus plummeted by34.3
billion U.S. dollars to 4.8 billion.
"The 7.7-billion-dollar increase in foreign exchange
reserves for the first quarter showed the country's economy still depends
heavily on external demand," said Mei Xinyu, an economist with the Ministry of
Commerce (MOC).
Yuan Gangming, a researcher with the CASS, said the
smaller increase in foreign exchange reserves might also be caused by capital
flight.
Official statistics show during the first two months,
the actually-utilized foreign direct investment dropped by 26.2 percent.
A large proportion of the country's foreign exchange
reserves are invested in U.S. treasuries and notes. Last month, the U.S. Federal
Reserve announced a plan to buy up to 300 billion U.S. dollars in long-term
treasuries. That added to worries in the value stability of the country's
foreign exchange reserves.
Mei said the slower growth in foreign exchange
reserves could be conducive to the national economic security because less
capital would be exposed to devaluation risks.
"The top priority should be to keep the value of
foreign exchange reserves stable," said Yuan. He suggested relevant authorities
should keep a close eye on flows of foreign reserves and prevent a similar
capital flight that happened after the Asian financial crisis.
Central bank official: China to
continue steady management of forex reserves
BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China has adopted a steady
and moderate policy in operating its foreign exchange reserves, and the country
will continue to do so, Yi Gang, vice governor of People's Bank of China, told
Xinhua Tuesday.
China's management of its foreign exchange reserves are
guided by the principle of maintaining safety, liquidity and profitability, he
said. Full story
China stresses security, liquidity
when deploying forex reserves
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday reaffirmed
its efforts to ensure security and liquidity when deploying foreign exchange
reserves.
"We did use foreign exchange reserves to buy U.S. treasury
bonds. Our principle of using reserves is to ensure security and liquidity,"
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told the press following talks with U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Full story
China weighs move to active management
of FX reserves
BEIJING, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- The power of China's huge
foreign exchange reserves, which stand at nearly 2 trillion U.S. dollars, might
start to be felt more around the world as the country seeks to use those funds
"more actively" as the global economic crisis grinds on, experts told Xinhua.
"The government has sent clear signals," said Yin
Jianfeng, deputy director of the Institute of Finance and Banking of the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences, a governmental think tank. Full story
Use of forex reserves for energy fund studied
BEIJING, Feb. 17 -- China is considering using part of its huge foreign exchange reserves to set up a fund for overseas energy exploration and acquisitions as part of a state plan to encourage offshore expansion, the nation's top oil producer said Feb.16,2009.
China will also offer subsidies and capital injection to firms which make overseas oil investments, China National Petroleum Corp said on its Website, citing a three-year state energy plan. Full story
Growth rate of China's forex reserve falls
BEIJING, Jan. 14 -- China's foreign exchange (forex) reserve increased by 417.8 billion U.S. dollars last year, 44.1 billion dollars less than in 2007, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said Tuesday.
The central bank also said the supply of money and loan growth picked up in December, reflecting the government's effort to boost the economy through proactive fiscal and moderately loose monetary policies. Full story
