MNI China Daily Summary: Friday, May 9

DATA: China's exports grew 8.1% y/y to USD315.69 billion in April following March's 12.4% increase, beating the 2.0% y/y consensus, according to data released by China Customs. Imports registered a 0.2% decrease, narrowing from the prior month's 4.3% fall and higher than the 5.9% decrease forecasted by the market. 

LIQUIDITY: The People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted CNY77.0 billion via 7-day reverse repos, with the rate unchanged at 1.40%. The operation led to a net injection of CNY77.0 billion as no repos mature today, according to Wind Information.

RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) fell to 1.5409% from 1.6112% , Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average decreased to 1.4908% from 1.5294%. 

YUAN: The currency weakened to 7.2461 against the dollar from the previous 7.2355. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate higher at 7.2095, compared with 7.2073 set on Thursday. The fixing was estimated at 7.2520 by Bloomberg survey today.

BONDS: The yield on 10-year China Government Bonds was last at 1.6290%, up from the previous close of 1.6280%, according to Wind Information.

STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.30% to 3,342.00, while the CSI300 index decreased 0.17% to 3,846.16. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.40% to 22,867.74.

FROM THE PRESS: China has officially recognised 17 new professions and 42 types of work, aiming to create over 12 million new urban jobs and maintain an urban unemployment rate of about 5.5% this year, the Ministry of Human Resources has announced. New professions include cross-border e-commerce operations manager and drone flight planner, with experts noting the move reflects evolving production, and allows younger people to develop new careers.

Several Chinese securities firms have announced plans to issue more than CNY16 billion of science and technology innovation bonds, Securities Times has reported. The funds will go towards cutting-edge science and technology and strategic emerging industries, such as integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, new energy, biomedicine and high-end equipment. The announcement came after the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued a notice on "Further Supporting the Issuance of Science and Technology Innovation Bonds to Serve New Quality Productivity" .

Authorities will actively support private enterprises in the construction of major national projects, according to Zheng Bei, deputy director at the National Development and Reform Commission. The NDRC plans to launch CNY3 trillion of initiatives in sectors such as transportation, energy, water conservancy and urban infrastructure this year, Zheng said. The central planner will help non-state firms invest in emerging and future industries, take the lead on key national technological research tasks and access advanced scientific infrastructure on equal terms, Zheng added. (Source: Securities Daily)