MNI China Press Digest Sept 10: Stocks, PBOC, E-Commerce

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Wednesday:

• China’s bull market shows few signs of speculation, with A-share market gains largely driven by institutional capital while retail participation remains subdued, according to Hong Hao, managing partner and chief economist at Lotus Asset Management. Hong expects the Shanghai Composite Index to climb beyond 4,000 points by year-end, noting that institutional inflows continue to build while retail investors remain cautious. “We haven’t seen large-scale shifts of funds from bank deposits into brokerage accounts, traditional hallmarks of market exuberance,” he said. Instead, capital has flowed heavily into ETFs and similar vehicles, largely managed by institutions and supplemented by foreign participation. (Source: Yicai)
• The People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng has signed bilateral local currency swap agreements with European counterparts, aiming to facilitate trade and investment, and safeguard financial market stability, the bank said. Under the renewed arrangements, the swap line between China and the Eurozone is set at CNY350 billion for three years. The agreement with Switzerland is valued at CNY150 billion with a five-year term, while the swap with Hungary is set at CNY40 billion, also for five years. (Source: PBOC)
• China’s E-Commerce Logistics Index rose to 112.3 in August, up 0.3 points from July and marking the sixth straight monthly increase, according to data from the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing. Liu Yuhang, director at the China Logistics Information Centre, said the gains reflect stronger consumer demand and improved convenience driven by e-commerce platforms. With extreme weather easing in August, logistics service quality also improved, the federation noted. Platform data showed a pickup in sales and promotional activity compared with July, underscoring the growing impact of consumption-supportive policies. (Source: 21st Century Herald)