MNI China Daily Summary: Friday, May 23

POLICY:  China’s online retail sales increased by 7.7% y/y from January to April, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Friday, highlighting improved consumer quality had strengthened domestic circulation.

LIQUIDITY: The People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted CNY142.5 billion via 7-day reverse repos, with the rate unchanged at 1.40%. The operation led to a net injection of CNY36 billion after offsetting the maturities of CNY106.5 billion today, according to Wind Information. 

RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) rose to 1.5860% from 1.5660% previously, Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average increased to 1.5652% from the previous 1.4768%. 

YUAN: The currency strengthened to 7.1895 against the dollar from the previous 7.2040. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate higher at 7.1919, compared with 7.1903 set on Thursday. The fixing was estimated at 7.2154 by Bloomberg survey today.

BONDS: The yield on 10-year China Government Bonds was last at 1.6900%, up from the previous close of 1.6860%, according to Wind Information.

STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.94% to 3,348.37, while the CSI300 index decreased 0.81% to 3,882.27. The Hang Seng Index gained 0.24% to 23,601.26.

FROM THE PRESS: The China Securities Regulatory Commission will increase support for the listing of unprofitable but high-quality technology companies, as well as facilitate the return of red-chip tech firms to the mainland market, 21st Century Business Herald reported, citing Yan Bojin, chief risk officer at CSRC. Yan said authorities will promote listings under the fifth edition of standards for the Science and Technology Innovation Board. The move signals that eligible firms can prepare listing materials for submission, the newspaper said, citing market insiders. At least five companies were applying by May 22, according to calculations from the Herald.

Beijing welcomes U.S. funded companies, including JPMorgan, to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with China and continue to help promote the healthy and sustainable development of trade relations between the two countries, Vice Premier He Lifeng told Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan at a meeting in Beijing. He said the recent Sino-US trade talks made substantial progress and created conditions for further cooperation. The government was striving to build a unified national market and will continue to expand high-level opening-up, He added.

The upcoming China ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 agreement introduces a digital economy chapter covering connectivity in hard digital infrastructure, electronic payment systems and personal information protection, as well as network security rules, according to Zhai Kun, deputy director at Peking University, following the announcement negotiations on the deal have been finalised. The agreement promotes cross-border industrial and supply chains allowing ASEAN to import raw materials and parts from China before assembling and exporting to the world, experts said. (Source: 21st Century Herald)