MNI China Press Digest July 14: Rail, SOEs, Housing

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Monday:

• China will achieve the commercialisation of 400 kilometers per hour high-speed railway operations, an improvement from current 350 kilometers per hour – the world’s fastest, Yicai.com reported, citing Wang Lixin, deputy general manager of China Railway Group. China’s high-speed train network covered more than 97% of the country's large cities with a population of above 500,000 by 2024, the newspaper said.
• China has adjusted evaluation metrics for state-owned insurance companies, which will likely promote an increase and stabilisation of insurance funds’ A-share investment proportion, Securities Daily reported, citing analysts. The assessment of insurers' return on equity will shift from a "current year and a 3-year cycle" model, to a multi-tiered system, incorporating current-year, 3-year and 5-year cycle metrics, with weights of 30%, 50% and 20% respectively, the daily said.
• Local governments are expected to boost home sales by increasing mortgage loan quotas taken from housing provident funds and supporting fund account withdrawls to pay down payments, Securities Daily reported, citing Chen Wenjing, director of policy research at the China Index Academy. Beijing city announced last week, homebuyers can use their fund for down payments while also applying for a mortgage, after more than 30 cities, including Shenzhen and Hangzhou, relaxed the use of the fund so far this year, the newspaper said.