Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Thursday (April 18)
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, foreign holdings of Chinese bonds see net increase of over 40 bln USD
Foreign investors saw a net increase of 41.6 billion U.S. dollars in their holdings of China's domestic bonds in the first quarter of 2024, State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Thursday.
This figure is notably higher than the total net increase of 23 billion U.S. dollars registered in 2023.
By the end of March, more than 1,100 overseas institutions from over 70 countries and regions entered the domestic bond market. Their bond holdings have exceeded 570 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for around 2.6 percent of the total domestic bonds in custody, up 0.2 percentage points from the end of last year.
MEANWHILE, Alibaba Doubles Down Overseas for New Growth Drive, China’s Caixin Media reported. China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is looking for growth by going abroad.
Cross-border e-commerce is considered Alibaba’s most promising segment, despite stiff competition from fast-rising upstarts such as the fast fashion retailer Shein and Temu, the overseas marketplace operated by PDD Holdings Inc.
China’s post-pandemic economy is causing consumers to cut back, forcing e-commerce companies to seek new growth elsewhere. In the fourth quarter 2023, PDD reported a triple-digit growth in revenue, driven by strong performance of Temu.
ALSO ON THURSDAY, China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) said Thursday that border ports had processed over 13 million inbound and outbound trips made by foreign nationals in the first quarter this year, marking a 305 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023.
So, are your trips included? How many times did you visit China in Q1?
The NIA also said altogether border ports had processed over 141 million inbound and outbound trips in the first quarter, marking an increase of over 117 percent from the same period of last year.
Among the cross-border trips, over 69.54 million were made by Chinese mainland residents and more than 59.11 million were made by residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, said the NIA.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Shanghai Composite Index Rose 0.09% on Thursday
China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (000001.SH) gained 0.09% on Thursday, while the Shenzhen Component Index (399001.SZ) fell 0.05%.
Shanghai’s tech-heavy STAR 50 Index (000688.SH) lost 0.69% for the day, while Shenzhen’s similar ChiNext Index (399006.SZ) fell 0.55%.
China's central bank adds liquidity via reverse repos
China's central bank conducted 2 billion yuan (about 281.61 million U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.8 percent Thursday.
The move aims to keep liquidity reasonable and ample in the banking system, the People's Bank of China said in a statement.
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 564.50 yuan (about 79.48 U.S. dollars) per gram, up 0.24 yuan from the previous trading day.
The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above rose 1.96 yuan from the previous trading day to 564.46 yuan.
Chinese yuan strengthens to 7.1020 against USD Thursday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 5 pips to 7.1020 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.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closes 0.82 pct higher
Hong Kong's stock market ended higher on Thursday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index up 0.82 percent to close at 16,385.87 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 0.94 percent to end at 5,803.86 points, the Hang Seng Tech Index rose 0.5 percent to close at 3,356.82 points.
BEFORE ENDING TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES,
No.1 soybean futures closed lower on Thursday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active No.1 soybean contract for May 2024 delivery dipped 34 yuan (about 4.79 U.S. dollars) to close at 4,642 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume of six listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 120,722 lots, with a turnover of about 5.62 billion yuan.
Iron ore futures closed higher on Thursday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active iron ore contract for September 2024 delivery gained 26 yuan (about 3.66 U.S. dollars) to close at 874 yuan per tonne.
On Thursday, the total trading volume of 12 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 668,881 lots, with a turnover of about 58.45 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.