China's first RRR cut in 2025 takes effect, social financing improves in April

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.Coming up on today’s programChina's social financing surges in first 4 months, with this year’s first RRR cut expected to further lift market demand;US container bookings for shipments from China surged threefold after the two countries mutually lowered tariffs.Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours China’s central bank cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 0.5 percentage points for financial institutions on Thursday, marking its first RRR cut of the year. The move is expected to provide about 1 trillion yuan in long-term liquidity into the market. The RRR reduction came following the announcement of the People’s Bank of China on May 7 that it would roll out a package of monetary policies to enhance macro-economic regulation, including lowering the lending policy rate and RRR.Central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said that the RRR cut would improve the structure of liquidity provided by the central bank to the country’s banking system, reduce banks' liability costs, and help cement the stability of their liabilities.Meanwhile, China’s social financing continued to improve, surging by 3.61 trillion yuan year-on-year to 16.34 trillion yuan in the first four months of 2025, official data showed yesterday, as pro-growth policies are gaining traction in bolstering the real economy.Notably, yuan loans issued to the real economy rose by 9.78 trillion yuan, an increase of 339.7 billion yuan compared with the same period last year.In the first four months, yuan loans increased by 10.06 trillion yuan. By sector, household loans rose by 518.4 billion yuan. Loans to enterprises and institutions surged by 9.27 trillion yuan. The growth in social financing and credit indicates stronger financial support for the real economy, boosting economic expansion, experts noted. At the same time, improved investment and business conditions have spurred fresh financing demand, creating a positive cycle between policy stimulus and market-driven growth. Following China's cuts to interest rates and RRR, market analysts predict further positive effects on financial data in May.After the US and China mutually lowered tariffs, container shipping bookings ordered in the US for shipments from China surged nearly 300 percent, CCTV reported, citing tracking agency Vizion. Average bookings were 5,709 standard containers in the seven days ended May 5, which soared to 21,530 in the seven days ended yesterday.China and the EU yesterday concluded a two-day financial working group meeting in Brussels for intensive exchanges on global economy uncertainty, financial stability conditions, and regulatory frameworks for banking and insurance sectors, according to the Chinese central bank.China will grant 30-day visa-free entry to visitors from Brazil, Argentina, Chili, Peru and Uruguay from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026, CCTV reported today, citing a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.GBA expressHong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has hailed his four-day visit to Qatar and Kuwait with a business delegation comprising representatives from Hong Kong and Chinese mainland enterprises, saying it yielded fruitful results. The Middle East visit resulted in a total of 59 memoranda of understanding and agreements – 35 in Qatar and 24 in Kuwait – spanning across diverse areas and laying a robust groundwork for multifaceted cooperation, he said.Hong Kong and Hunan province signed several trade and business agreements on Wednesday during the 2025 Hunan and Hong Kong investment and financing matchmaking conference. The province brought more than 200 projects to the conference and about 60 percent are high-tech related. Officials from Hunan province said they recognize Hong Kong’s status as Hunan's largest source of foreign investment and the largest overseas trading partner, and expect Hong Kong to assist Hunan in connecting with global markets.Funds raised through Hong Kong IPOs totaled USD303 billion between 2014 and last year, leading all stock exchanges globally, Securities Times reported, citing the HKEX Global Business Services. Information technology, consumption, and public utilities were the top three IPO fundraisers during 2018-2024.Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals has started taking investor orders for a Hong Kong listing that could raise as much as HKD9.9 billion. The Chinese mainland drugmaker is offering 225 million shares at HKD41.45 to HKD44.05 apiece, according to its listing document on Thursday.Industry and company newsChina on Wednesday launched 12 space-computing satellites, advancing its push into satellite-based networking. The satellites are the first phase of China's "Three-Body Computing Constellation," a space-based infrastructure designed to support integrated computing capabilities developed by Zhejiang Lab and global partners.Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings said its profit rose 22 percent to 61.3 billion yuan in the first quarter of the year, with strategic AI investments and implementation across key business segments starting to yield tangible returns. Revenue rose 13 percent to 180 billion yuan. Income from the value-added services and social network segments climbed 17 percent and 7 percent to 92.1 billion and 32.6 billion yuan, respectively. Domestic games revenue jumped 24 percent to 42.9 billion yuan, driven by Honour of Kings and other new releases. In addition, Tencent reiterated its commitment to repurchase at least HKD100 billion of its stock.Geely Auto’s first-quarter net profit more than tripled to 5.6 billion yuan from a year earlier, the Chinese auto giant’s latest earnings report showed today. Revenue soared 25 percent to 72.5 billion yuan. Meanwhile, the automaker’s EV brand Zeekr announced today that the 10,000th Zeekr 007 GT had rolled off the production line and was delivered to its customer. The e-wagon was only released a month ago.Chinese beverage giant Wahaha said it terminated its bottled water subcontracting deal with Jinmailang last month due to some batches of the instant noodle maker's manufactured purified water products failing to pass its quality inspection.Asia-Pacific highlightsA new cross-border railway between China and Mongolia started construction on Wednesday at the Ganqimaodu port in North China's Inner Mongolia. To be operational by 2027, the railway will be the second cross-border railway between the two nations in nearly 70 years. The project is expected to increase Mongolia's coal exports to 165 million tons annually, generating an additional USD1.5 billion in revenue, local media reported.Australian beef producers are poised to further tap the lucrative Chinese market, driven by strong growth in demand in China. In April, Australia's beef export volume hit a record high, exceeding 127,000 tons, with 21,572 tons imported by China, ranking as the second largest buyer. As of the end of April, China has bought 42,000 tons of Australian grain-fed beef this year, jumping 36 percent year-on-year.China Petroleum Engineering Corporation, the construction engineering unit of oil and gas giant PetroChina, has secured its third major gas contract in the Middle East this year, worth USD1.6 billion.