Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Thursday (March 28)
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 to Lift Anti-dumping & Anti-subsidy Tariffs on Australian Wine From Friday.
Given the changes in the relevant wine market in China, it is no longer necessary to impose such tariffs on imports of wine originating in Australia, the ministry said in a statement, China's Ministry of Commerce said.
The anti-dumping tariffs were imposed on March 28, 2021 for a five-year period.
ICYMI, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid an official visit to New Zealand and Australia from March 17 to 21.
During his stay in Australia, Wang held the seventh China-Australia Foreign and Strategic Dialogue with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong.
SHORTLY AFTER the announcement, the Australian government issued “Resolution of Wine Dispute With China", saying “We welcome this outcome, which comes at a critical time for the Australian wine industry.”
MEANWHILE, Citic Securities, China's leading brokerage, has shifted over 100 investment bankers from initial public offering (IPO) roles to other divisions, in a major overhaul to address slowing business amid the stock market downturn, China’s Caixin Media reported.
Most of the employees affected were transferred to debt financing business while the rest were relocated to mergers and acquisitions, and investment departments, a person close to the matter said.
ALSO ON THURSDAY, Caixin Media reported that state-owned conglomerate China Resources Group plans to pay $1.6 billion for a controlling stake in integrated circuit packaging leader JCET Group, as a giant industry investment fund steps back.
Pan Shi Hong Kong Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of China Resources, will acquire a combined 22.53% of JCET from the semiconductor company’s biggest shareholders China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Co. Ltd. and SilTech Semiconductor (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Shanghai-listed JCET (600584.SH) said in an exchange filing Tuesday.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Shanghai Composite Index Rose 0.59% on Thursday
China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (000001.SH) gained 0.59% on Thursday, while the Shenzhen Component Index (399001.SZ) rose 1.31%.
Shanghai’s tech-heavy STAR 50 Index (000688.SH) gained 1.39% for the day, while Shenzhen’s similar ChiNext Index (399006.SZ) rose 0.95%.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) net profit up 0.8 pct in 2023
The country's biggest commercial lender reported a net profit increase of 0.8 percent last year, despite a 3.7 percent drop in business revenue.
The bank's net profit attributable to shareholders stood at 365.12 billion yuan (about 51.43 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023 and its business revenue reached 843.07 billion yuan, according to its financial report filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
ICBC's non-performing loan ratio stood at 1.36 percent at the end of 2023, down 0.02 percentage points from the end of 2022.
The provision coverage ratio was 213.97 percent, 4.5 percentage points higher than that at the end of 2022.
The balance of domestic RMB loans was 24.4 trillion yuan at the end of 2023, an increase of 2.9 trillion yuan from the beginning of the year.
China's central bank adds liquidity via reverse repos
China's central bank conducted 250 billion yuan (about 35.24 billion U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.8 percent Thursday.
The move aims to keep liquidity in the banking system stable at the end of the quarter, the People's Bank of China said in a statement.
China's benchmark interbank gold prices mixed Thursday
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above stood at 506.01 yuan (about 71.32 U.S. dollars) per gram, down 6.97 yuan from the previous trading day, while the price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above gained 3.42 yuan from the previous trading day to 515.94 yuan.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closes 0.91 pct higher
Hong Kong stock market ended higher on Thursday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index up 0.91 percent to close at 16,541.42 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 1.44 percent to end at 5,810.79 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 2.48 percent to close at 3,477.55 points.
Chinese yuan weakens to 7.0948 against USD Thursday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 2 pips to 7.0948 against the U.S. dollar Thursday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
BEFORE ENDING TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES,
Cotton futures closed lower Thursday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE).
The most active cotton contract for May 2024 delivery lost 10 yuan (about 1.41 U.S. dollars) to close at 15,925 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 449,306 lots with a turnover of 35.8 billion yuan.
Sugar futures closed lower Thursday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.
The most active sugar contract for May 2024 delivery lost 16 yuan (about 2.26 U.S. dollars) to close at 6,472 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume for six listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 355,992 lots with a turnover of 22.91 billion yuan.
No.1 soybean futures closed higher on Thursday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active No.1 soybean contract for May 2024 delivery gained 26 yuan (about 3.27 U.S. dollars) to close at 4,759 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume of six listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 123,259 lots, with a turnover of about 5.85 billion yuan.
Iron ore futures closed lower on Thursday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active iron ore contract for September 2024 delivery dipped 6.5 yuan (about 82 U.S. cents) to close at 758 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume of 12 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 885,422 lots, with a turnover of about 68.32 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.