CBN丨China steps up stimulus with local infrastructure bond sales

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.大家好，我是主持人李莹亮。Coming up on today’s program.重点提要 -China is accelerating the issuance of special purpose bonds at the local government level to further boost investment;-China releases national standards for e-cigarettes after 5 years waiting.Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours 中国经济要闻China granted provinces their full allocation of special bonds to be used for infrastructure investment, an effort to step up stimulus to boost an economy overshadowed by a worsening Covid-19 outbreak.The issuance of local-government special bonds has progressed much faster and is more advanced this year than in previous years, Vice Minister of Finance Xu Hongcai said Tuesday.Regions with stronger financial capabilities and lower debt burdens were favoured in the distribution of the debt allowance, he said. The government also took into account compliance with fiscal discipline and the pace of using the funds, he added.By the end of March, the country had front-loaded about 1.25 trillion yuan worth of the 2022 bond quota, or 86 percent of the 2022 advance quota of 1.46 trillion yuan. Xu reiterated that the advance debt quota allocated in 2021 will be issued by the end of May, and the full quota set for this year will be issued by the end of September, as per the timetable set by the State Council.Beijing has pinned its hopes this year on infrastructure to help bolster the economy in the face of a property market slump and Covid lockdowns. According to this year's government work report, the country plans to issue a total of 3.65 trillion yuan of special-purpose bonds for local governments in 2022. Local governments are paying great attention to reserving projects eligible for such bond-based funding, and there are currently some 71,000 projects in the pipeline, he said.In order to make sure the bond proceeds are used in a timely manner, Xu said progress of bond sales and its spending will be linked to the amount of quota provinces can get in future.During the first quarter, sales of special local government bonds hit a record high for that time of year. Infrastructure investment increased 8.1 percent in January-February from a year ago, compared with just 0.4 percent expansion for the whole of 2021. Issuance will likely accelerate further as the State Council said last month the remainder of the annual quota should be used up by the end of September.  4月12日，国新办举行政策例行吹风会，财政部副部长许宏才介绍加快政府债券发行使用有关情况。许宏才介绍，用于项目建设的专项债券额度已全部下达。去年12月财政部提前下达地方2022年新增专项债券额度1.46万亿元。数据显示，截至2022年3月末，各地组织开展了提前下达额度的发行工作，累计发行约1.25万亿元，占提前下达额度的86%。一季度各地安排超过1100亿元专项债券资金用作重大项目资本金，有效发挥政府投资“四两拨千斤”的撬动作用。另据国家统计局数据，今年1-2月基础设施投资同比增长8.1%，涨幅比去年全年大幅回升7.7个百分点。此外，财政部还对专项债资金支出提出要求，具体而言，对2021年发行的专项债券，原则上在今年5月底前拨付使用；对2021年12月提前下达的2022年专项债券，原则上在今年9月底前拨付使用；对于第二批专项债券额度，尽可能在今年加快使用。3月29日，国务院常务会议部署加快政府债券发行使用，财政部认真贯彻落实，3月30日又向各地下达了剩余的新增专项债券限额。目前，各地正抓紧履行预算调整程序，将新下达限额尽快分解至市县。换言之，在国常会次日财政部即下达了剩余专项债额度。这一下达时点要比往年提前，比如去年在5月下达剩余额度。许宏才还表示，各地高度重视专项债券项目储备，分两批共储备了7.1万个项目，目前正按照“资金跟着项目走”的要求，抓紧将新增限额对应到符合条件的项目上，同时进一步压实主管部门和项目单位责任，要求加快资金使用，强化资金管理，确保专项债券实际使用形成的投资规模大幅增加，及早发挥作用。China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) approved on Tuesday the mandatory national standards for e-cigarettes that will be effective from October 1, 2022, detailing  criteria for taste, use and the protection of minors. Dubbed as an access threshold for the industry, the long-awaited national standards for e-cigarettes have been unveiled five years after the formulation plan was issued in 2017.电子烟国标“靴子落地”：4月12日，国家市场监督管理总局、国家标准化管理委员会批准电子烟强制国家标准，并自2022年10月1日起实施。标准对雾化物杂质和污染物中如重金属、砷等进行了限量要求。明确了雾化物中允许使用的添加剂和最大使用量。并要求电子烟烟具应具有防儿童启动功能和防止意外启动的保护功能。China's total imports and exports expanded 10.7 percent year on year to 9.42 trillion yuan in the first quarter of 2022, according to the General Administration of Customs on Wednesday. In the period, exports surged 13.4 percent year on year to 5.23 trillion yuan, while imports rose 7.5 percent to 4.19 trillion yuan.一季度中国进出口增长10.7：4月13日，国务院新闻办召开新闻发布会，海关总署相关负责人介绍，一季度我国外贸进出口总值9.42万亿元，同比增长10.7%，其中出口5.23万亿元，同比增长13.4%；进口4.19万亿元，同比增长7.5%。South China's Hainan Province expanded faster than the national growth in foreign trade for the past four years, as Wednesday marks the fourth anniversary of the construction of the Hainan free trade zone (FTZ) and free trade port (FTP). In 2021, the total value of Hainan's imports and exports was 147.7 billion yuan, up 58 percent year-on-year, and 36 percentage points faster than the national growth of foreign trade, according to the customs of Hainan. 海南自贸港外贸增速迅猛：4月12日，海关总署发布，海南自由贸易港宣布建设4年来，海南自由贸易港外贸增速明显快于全国水平。2021年，海南外贸进出口总值达1476.8亿元，同比增长57.7%，增速快于全国36.3个百分点。Greater Bay Area, Greater Future新使命，大未来The working group of the Hong Kong SAR has completed a feasibility study for stocks traded via the southbound legs of the Hong Kong-mainland stock link program denominated in yuan. “As a next step, the group will discuss it with the regulatory authorities and relevant organisations in the Chinese mainland,” the city’s secretary for financial services and the treasury said Monday. 港股通拟引入“人民币”计价：4月11日，香港财经事务及库务局局长许正宇透露，工作小组已完成港股通南向引入人民币计价的可行性研究，未来将与内地监管部门磋商。在现有的互联互通机制下，内地投资者已经可以直接用人民币买卖港股，换汇由“沪深港通”系统自动完成。Update on COVID-19疫情简报China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Tuesday said that China's "dynamic zero-COVID" policy is based on scientific merits and professional advices, which accords with the country's situation and the principle of World Health Organization (WHO). By following the effective quarantine and prevention measures, China has made great contribution to maintaining the stability of global industrial and supply chains and the growth of the world's economy, while maintaining China's own economic and social development, he added. 外交部谈“动态清零”政策：12日的外交部例行记者会上，有记者就中国防疫的相关情况提问。外交部发言人赵立坚回应称，中方动态清零政策和防疫规定，是基于科学和专家意见，符合中国实际和世界卫生组织指导原则。正是坚持了有力有效的防控措施，中国在保持自身经济社会发展的同时，为维护全球产业链、供应链的稳定和世界经济的增长作出了重要的贡献。Next on industry and company news产经消息及公司新闻China has overtaken the United States for the first time to dominate a new list of the Top 52 app publishers around the globe, with 17 domestic companies earning places on the annual Top 52 Publishers list released on Tuesday by data.ai, a US-based mobile analytics company.中国移动厂商数量首次夺魁：4月11日，美国聚合数据公司(data.ai)重磅发布 “2022年度发行商大奖”。总的来看，此次中国厂商以17 家的成绩超过美国厂商，成功位列 “全球52强发行商” 入围数量之首。China's rail network is currently carrying around 3,000 passenger trains per day, less than 30 percent of the normal capacity. Since March this year, a total of 39 trains have been dispatched to aid Hong Kong, more than 8,000 medical staff in anti-epidemic support for Shanghai and other places have been transported, and more than 30,000 tons of key anti-epidemic materials have been transported, data from China Railway revealed on Tuesday. 铁路日均客运列车量不到正常30%：4月12日，据中国国家铁路集团有限公司消息，目前，全国铁路日均开行旅客列车3000列左右，不到正常水平的30%。在国家疫情防控大局中担作为, 今年3月以来，全国铁路共开行援港物资列车39列；运送支援上海等地抗疫医护人员8000余人；运送抗疫保供重点物资3万余吨。Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market最后来看股市收盘情况Chinese stocks closed lower on Wednesday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite slipped 0.83 percent, and the Shenzhen Component was down 1.6 percent, with shares in digital currency, cloud games and tourism sectors saw losses. The Hang Seng Index closed 0.26 percent higher as the TECH Index gained 0.45 percent.周三A股集体走弱。截至收盘，沪指跌0.83%，深成指跌1.6%。创业板指跌2.25%，数字货币、云游戏、旅游等跌幅居前，物流、煤炭等板块涨幅居前。恒生指数收涨0.26%，恒生科技指数收涨0.45%。Biz Word of the Day财经词汇划重点The southbound legs of the stock connect allow capital to flow from A-share markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen to overseas markets. The SH-HK stock connect allows qualified mainland China investors to access eligible Hong Kong shares (Southbound) as well as Hong Kong and overseas investors to trade eligible A shares (Northbound) subject to a certain amount of daily quota.港股通，是指投资者委托内地证券公司，经由上海证券交易所设立的证券交易服务公司，向香港联合交易所进行申报(买卖盘传递)，买卖规定范围内的香港联合交易所上市的股票。沪港通包括沪股通和港股通两部分。