MNI China Press Digest Oct 10:NDRC, Offshore Yuan, Consumption

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Friday:

• Chinese authorities have proposed a series of targeted measures to curb disorderly price competition, including average cost investigations, stronger price supervision and standardised bidding practices, Securities Times reported, citing a joint announcement by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on Thursday. Industry associations may conduct research to assess average costs in sectors engaged in price wars and provide benchmarks to help firms set reasonable prices, according to the announcement.
• The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has launched a Renminbi (RMB) Business Facility from Oct 9 to support banks in providing yuan loans to corporates, Securities Daily reported. The new facility, expected to total CNY100 billion, replaces the trade finance liquidity facility introduced in February. HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue said demand for yuan as a financing currency has grown sharply, with the RMB loan-to-deposit ratio surging from about 20% in September 2022 to over 90% by June 2025. E Zhihuan, deputy dean of the Bank of China Research Institute, said the measure addresses the limited size of Hong Kong’s RMB funding pool, which remains around CNY1 trillion, leading to volatility in market interest rates and higher yuan financing costs.
• The average daily sales revenue of consumption sectors nationwide increased by 4.5% y/y during the Oct 1-8 Golden Week, among which goods and services sales rose by 3.9% and 7.6% y/y, China National Radio reported citing value-added tax invoice data by the State Administration of Taxation. Sales revenue of mobile phones and other communication equipment rose by 18.8% y/y, while that of automobiles increased by 12.6% y/y. Spending on tourism showed strong growth momentum, with leisure consumption increasing at a high rate of 17.6%.