CEO Morning Brief

China Plans US$139b Special Ultra-long Debt for Economy

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Publish date: Wed, 06 Mar 2024, 03:53 PM
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TheEdge CEO Morning Brief

(March 5): China plans to issue one trillion yuan (US$139 billion or RM660 billion) of ultra-long special central government bonds this year as authorities ramp up fiscal stimulus for the world’s second-largest economy.

Beijing outlined the proposal in its government work report on Tuesday, which was seen by Bloomberg News. It’s only the fourth such sale in the past 26 years, with the most recent one in 2020 when authorities issued one trillion yuan worth of those bonds to pay for pandemic response measures.

The move — which Bloomberg News reported in January was under consideration — signals a focus by President Xi Jinping’s government this year on tapping fiscal support to help the economy, which is facing pressures from deflation, the property crisis and dampened consumer confidence. The report said China plans to issue ultra long-term special bonds for several consecutive years, though it did not include a target beyond 2024.

Alongside the special central debt, local governments will be allowed to sell 3.9 trillion yuan of new special bonds, mainly used to finance infrastructure spending, according to the report.

Beijing also set its fiscal deficit target at 3% of gross domestic product. That’s the same as last year’s target, which was bumped up to 3.8% in October alongside an announcement for extra debt issuance. Special bond issuance usually does not count within the official deficit ratio.

Source: TheEdge - 6 Mar 2024

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