MNI China Press Digest March 12: AI, Oil Prices, Housing

MNI (BEIJING) - Highlights from Chinese press reports on Thursday:

• The People’s Bank of China said it will actively, steadily, safely and orderly promote the application of artificial intelligence in the financial sector to promote the momentum of digital and intelligent development, 21st Century Business Herald reported. Securities Times reported that financial institutions generally adopt a wait-and-see attitude towards open-source intelligent agents such as OpenClaw, as its end-to-end automatic execution is currently severely mismatched with financial compliance requirements.
• Rising oil prices have led to price adjustments by several airlines in Hong Kong and Thailand, though Chinese companies are still applying the previous fuel surcharge standard, Securities Daily reported. In China, fuel surcharges are adjusted by relevant national departments, and the next adjustment window will be on April 5. Airlines need to find a balance between cost pressures and market demand, as price increases could drive some price-sensitive passengers to high-speed rail, affecting airline load factor and revenue, the newspaper said.
• More than 30 cities have optimised housing provident fund loan policies so far this year to help unleash homebuying demand, Securities Daily reported. Shanghai has raised the maximum loan amount for a family purchasing its first home from CNY1.6 million to CNY2.4 million. If the family has multiple children and buys a green building, the maximum borrowing can reach CNY3.24 million. Currently, the interest rate for first-time homebuyers using housing provident funds with a term of five years or more is 2.6%, compared with about 3.06% for newly issued commercial housing mortgages nationwide.