PBOC governor highlights policies to boost housing, capital markets

China's recent roll out of a series of policies aimed at revitalizing the housing and capital markets has effectively bolstered public confidence, contributing positively to the steady operation of the economy and finance, said governor of China's central bank at a financial forum on Friday.

Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), made these remarks at the annual conference of the Financial Street Forum 2024 in Beijing, where he provided updates on a series of incremental monetary policies designed to support steady economic growth. "All four financial policies for the housing market have now been announced, including the adjustment to mortgage rates for existing loans, which represents a crucial policy benefiting the public. This change is expected to assist around 50 million households, reducing their annual interest payments by approximately 150 billion yuan (about 21 billion U.S. dollars)," Pan stated.

He referred to the four policies jointly released by the PBOC and the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) on Friday, which include improvements to the pricing mechanism for mortgage rates on commercial residential properties, lowering the minimum down payment ratio for commercial housing mortgages to no less than 15 percent for both first and second homes, optimizing refinancing policies for affordable housing, and extending certain financial policies related to the housing market.

Pan also highlighted two financial tools developed by the central bank to ensure the steady growth of the capital market.

"The PBOC has established a task force with the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the NFRA to work on the implementation of the two financial tools to support the stable growth of the capital market. The Securities, Funds, and Insurance Companies Swap Facility (SFISF) has begun accepting applications from financial institutions. The policy for the special re-lending facility aimed at facilitating stock buybacks and increasing shareholdings has been officially released and implemented today," said Pan.

The Securities, Funds and Insurance companies Swap Facility (SFISF), allows eligible securities, funds and insurance companies to use their assets including bonds, stock ETFs and holdings in constituents of the CSI 300 Index as collateral in exchange for highly liquid assets such as treasury bonds and central bank bills. This initiative is expected to significantly enhance their access to funds and facilitate increased stock holdings. SFISF：

Additionally, the central bank introduced a special re-lending facility aimed at guiding banks to provide loans to listed companies and their major shareholders for stock buybacks and increasing shareholdings. The initial scale for this re-lending facility is set at 300 billion yuan (about 42 billion U.S. dollars), with an interest rate of 1.75 percent, applicable to various company types regardless of ownership.

"Since the launch of these policies, both domestic and international responses have been overwhelmingly positive. These measures have helped restore public confidence and have played a positive role in promoting the steady operation of the economy and finance," Pan noted.

The Financial Street Forum, established in 2012 on the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Beijing Financial Street, aims to foster communication and collaboration within the financial sector and enhance the international standing of Beijing's financial community.

This year's edition, themed "Trust and Confidence: Work Together to Promote Financial Openness and Cooperate for Economic Stability and Development," is set to run from Friday to Sunday, featuring a main forum, parallel sessions, and global fintech discussions.

PBOC governor highlights policies to boost housing, capital markets

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspected the cities of Anqing and Hefei in east China's Anhui Province on Thursday afternoon.

Xi visited the Liuchi Alley in Tongcheng City under Anqing and the Hefei Binhu Science City.

During the visits, he learnt about the local efforts to carry forward fine traditional Chinese culture, promote cultural-ethical progress, advance institutional innovation of science and technology, and accelerate the application of scientific and technological advances.

Being part of the Yangtze River Delta, Anhui Province boasts beautiful landscapes and a rich cultural heritage.

It covers an area of 140,100 square kilometers and has a population of 61.21 million.

In the first half of 2024, its GDP reached 2.3967 trillion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 5.3 percent.

To comprehensively deepen reforms and promote high-quality development in manufacturing, Anhui is focused on building a "4433" trillion-yuan industrial system. The goal is to cultivate four trillion-yuan industries, four industries exceeding 500 billion yuan, three exceeding 300 billion yuan, and three exceeding 100 billion yuan by 2027.

Anhui Province has further enhanced its capacity for technological innovation by integrating reforms in education, technology, and talent systems. The strategical emerging industries driven by innovation are continuously growing, with technological advancements turning into new momentum for high-quality development.

As a major grain-producing area, Anhui's grain output has reached 40 billion kilograms for seven consecutive years.

Anhui is systematically advancing ecological protection and restoration while accelerating the green transformation of its development model. Over the past 10 years, energy consumption per unit of GDP in the province has decreased by 30 percent.

With a long and rich history and profound cultural heritage, Anhui is actively promoting cultural prosperity and development. The aim is to stimulate cultural innovation and creativity and accelerate the establishment of a thriving and strong cultural province.

Brief look at Anhui Province as Xi goes on inspection tour