Zhu Zhixin, deputy director of the
National Development and Reform Commission, Ding Xuedong, deputy
minister of Ministry of Finance and Su Ning, deputy governor of the
People's Bank of China (PBOC) attend a press conference in Beijing on
Friday. (Photo: China.org.cn) Photo
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BEIJING, Aug. 9 -- The Chinese government will not
change its stimulus policies because it could derail its hard-won economic
recovery, though record bank lending in the first half of the year has raised
fears over credit risks and asset bubbles.
"The
central bank is still committed to a 'moderately loose monetary policy'," said
Su Ning, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), at a press
conference in Beijing on Friday.
"When we say 'dynamic fine-tuning', we do not mean
the monetary policy but the monetary policy operations. We will sharpen the
focus and intensify the pace of the policies," Su said.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down
2.9 percent on Friday, slipping for a third day, after a PBOC announcement on
Wednesday said it would "actively fine-tune policies" as the economy improves,
raising fears that it could check liquidity.
July's major growth figures will be released early
next week, and investors are waiting to see more signs of a solid recovery.
The country's banks have lent nearly 7.4 trillion
yuan (1.08 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first half of the year - far higher
than the initial full-year target of 5 trillion yuan.
On the back of the unprecedented rise in credit, the
Shanghai Composite Index has rallied about 80 percent this year and real estate
prices have rebounded to record levels in some major cities.
Some economists say much of the country's massive
586-billion-dollar stimulus package and record lending in the first half may not
have been spent on real economic activities and created asset bubbles.
"How far the bubble will go depends on the
government's liquidity policy," said Xie Guozhong, board member of Rosetta Stone
Advisors.
Zhang Jianguo, president of China Construction Bank,
said on Thursday that the bank would cut lending by about 70 percent to 200
billion yuan in the second half to avert a surge in bad debt.
But the government thinks differently about easing
the monetary policy.
"The PBOC did not use asset prices as a monetary
policy target," Su said.
The government's measures to fight recession have
been by far the most successful in the world.
"The PBOC has a package of tools to keep money supply
in check," Su said. "There's no inflation at the moment."
"The government's promise to maintain moderately
loose monetary policy will boost market sentiment," said Zhao Xijun, deputy
director of Financial and Securities Institute of the Renmin University of
China.
"I think investors have misread the PBOC's recent
talk of dynamic fine-tuning which should mean slower credit growth rather than a
decrease in credit supply," Zhao said in reaction to the recent fall in stock
prices.
"If the government changes the policies, it will
definitely reverse the upward momentum of the economy and lead to failure at the
mid-point," Zhu Zhixin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform
Commission, said at the same press conference.
To keep the country's recovery on track, Zhu said,
the government would give private businesses more access to the market - in
"monopoly industries", for instance.
Profitable industries, such as electricity,
telecommunication, petrochemicals and finance are largely closed to private
investment, and the government still has a monopoly over education, healthcare
and cultural industries, a recent All-China Federation of Finance and Commerce
report said.
BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- There will be no change
in China's macro-economic policy orientation amid the world economic downturn,
said an official with the country's economic planner on Friday.
Zhu Zhixin, vice minister of the National Development
and Reform Commission (NDRC), said at a State Council Information Office
conference that the overseas market is still severe and the country's economic
policy direction will remain unchanged. Full story
BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Almost half of China's private
equity (PE) managers voiced optimism about China's mainland stock market despite
last week's share slump, latest survey showed.
In a survey conducted by China's state TV broadcaster,
China Central Television (CCTV) and simu.com, an information provider of the
field, of the 35 top PE managers that had been interviewed, 45.71 percent
predicted a bullish market in August. Full story
