Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Thursday (Aug. 22)
Your Daily & Trustworthy Updates on the Chinese Economy
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Good Thursday! This is TIAN in Beijing.
Welcome to monitor the pulse of China’s economy together with me.
DRIVING THE DAY, China reported steady growth in overseas investment in the first seven months of 2024, official data showed on Thursday.
China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) increased 16.2 percent year on year to 83.55 billion U.S. dollars in the first seven months of the year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.
That growth rate was lower than the 16.6 percent increase recorded in the first half of 2024.
During the first seven months, cooperation under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework gained steam as ODI in countries participating in the BRI surged 7.7 percent year on year to 17.94 billion U.S. dollars.
The turnover of contracted overseas projects amounted to 86.28 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 6.6 percent, and the value of new contracts surged 25 percent to 133.95 billion U.S. dollars.
ALSO ON THURSDAY, China has remained the world's largest market for industrial robots for an 11th consecutive year, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Thursday.
Data shows that in 2023, China's industrial robot production had reached 430,000 sets, while the country's newly added robot installations accounted for more than half of the global market over the past three years, said Xin Guobin, vice minister of the MIIT.
After a decade of rapid development, China has become a strong promoter of the growth of the global robot industry, Xin added.
As of July 2024, China boasted more than 190,000 effective robot-related patents, accounting for about two-thirds of the global total.
MEANWHILE, China's top economic planner on Thursday said that it has allocated 200 million yuan (about 28 million U.S. dollars) from the country's central budget to aid disaster relief and restoration work in the flood-hit northeastern provinces of Liaoning and Jilin.
The funds will be used for the emergency restoration of dikes, road traffic, schools and hospitals affected or damaged by flooding in the two provinces, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.
Parts of Liaoning and Jilin were recently hit by torrential rains, disrupting power, communication and transportation.
ICYMI: Alipay app available in 16 languages to facilitate foreigners traveling in China
Chinese payment services platform Alipay recently announced that it now provides services in 16 languages, which it expects will help international tourists travel in China more smoothly.
Services on the smartphone app are now available in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Turkish, Malay, Indonesian, Thai, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese, in addition to the Chinese and English services already in use.
With the latest update, foreign visitors in China can use the app's payment service in the language of their choosing. Other frequently used services in the app, including a hotel booking platform, can be translated into that language with a single click using Alipay's translation tool.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Shanghai Composite Index Fell 0.27% on Thursday
China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (000001.SH) lost 0.27% on Thursday, while the Shenzhen Component Index (399001.SZ) fell 0.82%.
Shanghai’s tech-heavy STAR 50 Index (000688.SH) lost 0.88% for the day, while Shenzhen’s similar ChiNext Index (399006.SZ) fell 0.76%.
Chinese yuan strengthens to 7.1228 against USD Thursday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 79 pips to 7.1228 against the U.S. dollar Thursday, 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 benchmark interbank gold prices higher Thursday
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above stood at 574.95 yuan (about 80.72 U.S. dollars) per gram, 1.96 yuan higher than the previous trading day.
The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above went up 1.75 yuan from the previous trading day to 574.5 yuan.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index closes 1.44 pct higher
Hong Kong stock market ended higher on Thursday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index up 1.44 percent to close at 17,641.00 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbed 1.34 percent to end at 6,224.24 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index jumped 2.16 percent to close at 3,508.61 points.
China's central bank conducts reverse repos Thursday
China's central bank conducted 359.3 billion yuan (50.44 billion U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.7 percent Thursday.
The move aims to keep liquidity reasonable and ample in the banking system, the central bank said.
AT THE END OF TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES:
Cotton futures closed higher Thursday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE).
The most active cotton contract for January 2025 delivery gained 50 yuan (about 7.02 U.S. dollars) to close at 13,580 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 392,082 lots with a turnover of 26.68 billion yuan.
Sugar futures closed lower Thursday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.
The most active sugar contract for January 2025 delivery lost 29 yuan (about 4.07 U.S. dollars) to close at 5,558 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume for six listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 455,141 lots with a turnover of 25.51 billion yuan.
Iron ore futures closed higher on Thursday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active iron ore contract for January 2025 delivery gained 3 yuan (about 42 U.S. cents) to close at 730 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume of 12 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 596,888 lots, with a turnover of about 43.99 billion yuan.
No.1 soybean futures closed lower on Thursday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active No.1 soybean contract for January 2025 delivery dipped 6 yuan (about 84 U.S. cents) to close at 4,216 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume of six listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 80,322 lots, with a turnover of about 3.41 billion yuan.
About the Newsletter:
Ran by TIAN Dongdong, this newsletter features daily, trustworthy content on China's economy and regularly updates the insights of Chinese youth on Sino-US relations. Having worked in Brussels, London, Cairo, and Tripoli for Chinese media as correspondent for several years, TIAN is now based in Beijing.