Financial authorities crack economic hard nuts with targeted tools

 More policies will be introduced to tackle ongoing challenges, particularly in the real estate sector and capital market.

CHINA’S financial authorities on Friday reiterated their resolve to keep the world’s second-largest economy on track by implementing and rolling out more policies aimed at addressing outstanding challenges.

Head of the country’s central bank, along with the leaders of China’s top securities watchdog and top financial regulator gathered once again in less than a month following their joint participation in a high-profile late-September press conference that unveiled an expectation-beating raft of pro-growth policies.

“There are still prominent contradictions and challenges in the current economic operation, mainly in the real estate sector and capital market,” Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China, said in his address at the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2024. The country’s major cities continued to see a price decline of commercial residential homes in September, along with improved expectations for the property sector, official data showed Friday. “Based on international experience and China’s past practices, targeted policies need to be introduced to address these issues,” Pan said. In the past month, the country has cut the reserve requirement ratio, reduced the interest rates for existing mortgage loans and introduced a swap facility to channel more cash into the stock market, among others. The roll-out of incremental policies indicates Chinese authorities’ “firm determination to ensure economic stability, stabilize expectations, promote consumption, and improve people’s well-being,” Pan said. — Xinhua