China central bank injects 700b yuan of MLF loans

China's central bank on Monday rolled over maturing medium-term loans while keeping borrowing costs unchanged for the fourth straight month.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement it was keeping the rate on 700 billion yuan ($100.74 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to financial institutions steady at 2.95% from previous operations.

Analysts also expect no change for the country's benchmark loan prime rate (LPR) on Thursday.

The fresh fund injection well exceeds two batches of MLF loans that are set to expire in August, with a total volume of 550 billion yuan.

The PBOC said in the statement that the rollover was a one-off MLF operation for the whole month to "fully meet market demand".

It also said it injected another 50 billion yuan through seven-day reverse repos while also keeping the borrowing cost steady.

The MLF, one of the PBOC's main tools in managing longer-term liquidity in the banking system, serves as a guide for the LPR, which is set monthly using assessments from 18 banks.

Chinese drone giant SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd has been making sweeping cuts to its global sales and marketing teams as it faces coronavirus headwinds and mounting political pressure in key markets, current and former staff told Reuters.

A man wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease ( COVID-19) outbreak is seen at a counter displaying drones and other products, at DJI's flagship store in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China August 8, 2020. REUTERS/David Kirton u000d

The world's biggest drone maker has slashed its corporate sales and marketing team from 180 to 60 at its Shenzhen headquarters in recent months, with similar cuts on the consumer side, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Its global video production team, once used to highlight DJI drones' filming potential, has shrunk from 40-50 people at its height to around three people. A marketing team of six has been let go in South Korea.

Reuters spoke to over 20 current and recently departed DJI staff with knowledge of the cuts who did not want to give their names out of fear it will jeopardise their careers.

In response to Reuters questions, a DJI spokesman said the company realized in 2019 its structure "was becoming unwieldy to manage" after years of strong growth.

"We had to make some difficult decisions to realign talent so that we can continue to achieve our business goals during challenging times," the spokesman added.