Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Friday (Aug. 23)
Your Daily & Trustworthy Updates on the Chinese Economy
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Good Friday! This is TIAN in Beijing.
Welcome to monitor the pulse of China’s economy together with me.
DRIVING THE DAY, China is advancing reforms in its real estate sector by promoting the sale of properties upon completion, signaling a shift from the traditional pre-sale model, according to the housing authority on Friday.
This new approach is being implemented for some new real estate development projects, with land transfers requiring properties to be sold only upon completion, said Dong Jianguo, vice minister of housing and urban-rural development.
Several regions across China have already launched projects using this new sales model, Dong said at a press conference.
MEANWHILE, Alibaba Group on Friday announced its primary listing plan on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with the change to primary listing scheduled for Aug. 28, which will make the group a dual-primary listed company on the New York Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The upgrade of listing status in Hong Kong, which Alibaba applied in July 2022, does not include new share offering and fundraising, the Chinese tech giant said in a statement.
The addition of Hong Kong as another primary listing venue is expected to allow Alibaba to broaden its investor base from the Chinese mainland and other Asian markets and increase the liquidity of its Hong Kong-listed shares.
Since its secondary listing in Hong Kong in 2019, the majority of its public float has been shifted to Hong Kong. Alibaba has been among the top three listed companies in Hong Kong in terms of both market capitalization and share transaction volume.
ALSO ON FRIDAY, China's installed power generation capacity expanded 14 percent year on year in the first seven months of this year, data from the National Energy Administration showed on Friday.
The country's total installed power generation capacity reached approximately 3.1 billion kilowatts by the end of July, the data showed.
In breakdown, solar power's cumulative power generation capacity increased by 49.8 percent to 740 million kilowatts, while wind power rose 19.8 percent year on year.
From January to July, major power enterprises in China invested a total of 415.8 billion yuan (about 58.27 billion U.S. dollars) in power supply projects, a 2.6-percent increase over the same period last year.
China's investment in power grid projects reached 294.7 billion yuan during the first seven months, up 19.2 percent year on year.
During the period, the country's power use climbed 7.7 percent to nearly 5.6 trillion kilowatt-hours, official data showed.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Shanghai Composite Index Rose 0.2% on Friday
China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (000001.SH) gained 0.2% on Friday, while the Shenzhen Component Index (399001.SZ) rose 0.24%.
Both Shanghai’s tech-heavy STAR 50 Index (000688.SH) and Shenzhen’s similar ChiNext Index (399006.SZ) ended nearly flat for the day.
Chinese yuan weakens to 7.1358 against USD Friday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 130 pips to 7.1358 against the U.S. dollar Friday, 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 lower Friday
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above stood at 572.74 yuan (about 80.26 U.S. dollars) per gram, 2.21 yuan lower than the previous trading day.
The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above went down 1.61 yuan from the previous trading day to 572.89 yuan.
China's central bank conducts reverse repos Friday
China's central bank conducted 379.3 billion yuan (53.15 billion U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.7 percent Friday.
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 lower Friday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE).
The most active cotton contract for January 2025 delivery lost 45 yuan (about 6.31 U.S. dollars) to close at 13,580 yuan per tonne.
On Friday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 292,693 lots with a turnover of 19.86 billion yuan.
Sugar futures closed lower Friday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.
The most active sugar contract for January 2025 delivery lost 29 yuan (4.06 U.S. dollars) to close at 5,536 yuan per tonne.
On Friday, the total trading volume for six listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 429,956 lots with a turnover of 23.97 billion yuan.
Iron ore futures closed lower on Friday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active iron ore contract for January 2025 delivery dipped 16.5 yuan (about 2.31 U.S. dollars) to close at 719.5 yuan per tonne.
On Friday, the total trading volume of 12 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 542,413 lots, with a turnover of about 39.39 billion yuan.
No.1 soybean futures closed lower on Friday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active No.1 soybean contract for January 2025 delivery dipped 12 yuan (about 1.68 U.S. dollars) to close at 4,213 yuan per tonne.
On Friday, the total trading volume of six listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 71,784 lots, with a turnover of about 3.04 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.