China FX reserves rise $24bn in May to $3.054 trillion

Chinese architect plans ‘garden city’ in new economic zone

BEIJING, June 7, (RTRS): China’s foreign exchange reserves rose modestly in May for a fourth straight month and by more than markets had expected, as stringent capital control measures and a weakening dollar helped staunch outflows.

Reserves rose $24 billion in May to $3.054 trillion, compared with an increase of $21 billion in April to $3.03 trillion, central bank data showed on Wednesday.

It was the first time that reserves had climbed for four months in a row since June 2014.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected reserves to rise $10 billion to $3.04 trillion.

China has tightened rules on moving capital outside the country in recent months as it seeks to support the yuan currency and stem a slide in its foreign exchange reserves.

It burned through nearly $320 billion of reserves last year but the yuan still fell about 6.5 percent against the dollar, its biggest annual drop since 1994.

After steadying early this year in response to a flagging dollar, the yuan suddenly bolted to near seven-month highs in recent weeks after the central bank changed the way it calculates its official daily reference point to quash expectations of further depreciation.

The value of China’s gold reserves fell to $75.004 billion at end-May, from $75.019 billion at end-April, data published on the People’s Bank of China website also showed.

BEIJING:

Also:

The chief architect of China’s latest special economic zone said he expects to submit to the government by the end of this month a detailed proposal including plans for a high-tech garden city in one of the country’s most polluted provinces.

The idea of developing the Xiongan New Area, about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of Beijing, was announced on April 1. The planned zone in Hebei province has been touted as having the same national significance as the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone that helped launch China’s economic transformation in 1980.

“We estimate the proposal would be submitted to the central government for review by the end of June,” Xu Kuangdi, chief adviser for the planning of the Xiongan economic zone, said at a forum on regional development in Beijing.

All infrastructure in the zone, including transport, water and electricity, will be built underground to make room for green spaces and pedestrians, Xu said on Tuesday.

Inter-city transport would be “ultraconvenient”, with the commute between Xiongan and Beijing a mere 41-minute ride by high speed rail, he said.