MNI China Press Digest March 26: Property, Fiscal, Budget

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Wednesday:

• Out of China’s 31 provinces, eight saw positive growth in real-estate investment in the first two months, double from 2024, Yicai.com reported, noting more than 50% saw declines narrowing. Heilongjiang province's property investment grew by 33.5% y/y in the Jan-Feb period, following the 27.3% and 27.9% drop in 2023 and 2024. Yunnan province fell 0.9%, improving from the about 30% drop in the past three years. Nationwide property investment fell 9.8% y/y overall in the first two months, narrowing 0.8 percentage points from 2024.
• China’s rapid issuance of new special bonds demonstrates local governments' intention to stimulate market vitality actively, according to Zhang Yiqun, director at the Jilin Provincial Institute of Fiscal Science. The Securities Daily notes the total scale of local government bonds issued reached CNY2.5 trillion by March 25, up 89% y/y, of which newly added special bonds and refinancing special bonds accounted for 31% and 50% respectively.
• China’s general budget expenditure reached CNY4.5 trillion during January and February, accounting for 15.2% of the annual spending plan, representing the highest average level for the same period in three years, highlighting the government’s commitment to frontloading fiscal policy in 2025, according to experts interviewed by Xinhua News Agency. Securities transaction stamp tax totalled CNY23 billion, up 58.9% y/y, reflecting the success of market stabilisation measures, according to Luo Zhiheng, chief economist at Yuekai Securities.