Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Wednesday (Nov. 13)
Your Daily & Trustworthy Updates on the Chinese Economy
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HOWDY! It’s Wednesday. This is TIAN in Beijing.
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING, China on Wednesday rolled out tax policies to support the steady and healthy development of the real estate market.
The Ministry of Finance said the country will increase incentives in terms of deed tax to actively support people's essential housing needs and needs for improving their housing conditions.
The minimum prepayment rate for land appreciation tax will be lowered to alleviate financial difficulties of real estate companies.
Additionally, the authorities will clarify policies on value-added taxes and land appreciation taxes in line with the scrapping of standards for ordinary and non-ordinary housing, reduce second-hand housing transaction costs, and keep tax burdens on real estate companies stable.
MEANWHILE, Ola Kaellenius, chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz, made some comments about Benz’s investment in China.
Here are some key take aways from his interview with China’s Xinhua News Agency:
It is necessary "to make all the decision-makers and stakeholders at Mercedes-Benz aware that you need to be successful in China to be even more successful in the world."
This biggest car market in the world has great potential and also growth potential in the long term.
Next year, Mercedes-Benz will launch multiple new products globally, marking the largest product offensive in the company's history. All these electric vehicles will feature the full first comprehensive version of Mercedes-Benz Operating System, with new technologies also being integrated into the combustion fleet in the coming years.
Protectionism in the form of tariffs, as Kaellenius sees it, "is the wrong way to go, because we believe it stifles growth, it stifles innovation, and it does not create a win-win situation for everybody."
"The right direction would be to sit down with our Chinese partners, discuss a level playing field, and make sure that we come to some kind of a negotiated solution that both parties continue to have access to markets that are opening up and are not creating borders," he said.
The invisible hand of the market will sort things out, promote growth, and help build bridges, he noted, especially in an era when protectionism is making a comeback.
The FULL TEXT is here: Interview: Mercedes-Benz's success in China key to its global growth, says executive
ALSO ON WEDNESDAY, China has 58.08 million kilowatts of nuclear power units in operation, and 55.05 million kilowatts officially approved or under construction, making its total capacity “the highest in the world,” according to the China Energy Research Society (CERS).
China's nuclear power generation had reached 430 billion kilowatt-hours in 2023 -- accounting for more than 13 percent of its total clean energy generation, which stood at about 3.1 trillion kilowatt-hours, said the CERS.
The data was released during the Third China Nuclear Energy High-Quality Development Conference, which ran from Monday to Wednesday this week.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Chinese shares close HIGHER Wednesday
Chinese stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.51 percent to 3,439.28 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.4 percent higher at 11,359.29 points.
The combined turnover of these two indices stood at 2.01 trillion yuan (about 279.18 billion U.S. dollars), down from the 2.55 trillion yuan recorded on the previous trading day.
Shares in the telecommunication and internet sectors led the gains, while those related to daily chemical products suffered major losses.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.11 percent to close at 2,417.25 points Wednesday.
China's benchmark interbank gold prices lower Wednesday
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above stood at 606.75 yuan (about 84.28 U.S. dollars) per gram, 5.51 yuan lower than the previous trading day.
The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above went down 10.49 yuan from the previous trading day to 602.81 yuan.
Chinese yuan weakens to 7.1991 against USD Wednesday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 64 pips to 7.1991 against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
China's central bank conducts reverse repos Wednesday
China's central bank conducted 233 billion yuan (about 32.37 billion U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.5 percent Wednesday.
The move aims to keep liquidity in the banking system adequate at a reasonable level, the central bank said.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closes 0.12 pct lower
Hong Kong's stock market ended lower Wednesday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 0.12 percent to close at 19,823.45 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index edged up 0.05 percent to end at 7,130.93 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index dipped 0.03 percent to 4,455.67 points.
AT THE END OF TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES:
Cotton futures closed lower Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE).
The most active cotton contract for January 2025 delivery lost 40 yuan (about 5.56 U.S. dollars) to close at 14,045 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 257,401.0 lots with a turnover of 18.13 billion yuan.
Sugar futures closed higher Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.
The most active sugar contract for January 2025 delivery gained 10 yuan (1.4 U.S. dollars) to close at 5,931 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume for five listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 414,947 lots with a turnover of 24.67 billion yuan.
Iron ore futures closed lower on Wednesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE).
The most active iron ore contract for January 2025 delivery dipped 1.5 yuan (about 21 U.S. cents) to close at 762.5 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume of 11 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 327,691 lots, with a turnover of about 25.07 billion yuan.
No. 1 soybean futures closed lower on Wednesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active No. 1 soybean contract for January 2025 delivery dipped 69 yuan (about 9.6 U.S. dollars) to close at 3,960 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume of five listed No. 1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 202,440 lots, with a turnover of about 8.07 billion yuan.
About the Newsletter:
Ran by TIAN Dongdong, this newsletter features daily and trustworthy content on China's economy. Having worked in Brussels, London, Cairo, and Tripoli for Chinese media as correspondent for several years, TIAN is now based in Beijing.