China state planner vows to keep lid on debt levels

CHINA’S state planner yesterday pledged to keep debt levels under control, even as Beijing rolls out fresh stimulus to support the stumbling economy as a trade war with the US deepens.

The comments by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) came a day after China reported surprisingly weak data that showed investment growth has slowed to a record low.

To stabilise business conditions and weather the trade war, Beijing is stepping up infrastructure spending and injecting more funds into the banking system, which is lowering borrowing costs. New loans by China’s largely statebacked banks surged 75 percent in July from a year earlier.

But some China watchers fear Beijing’s shift in priorities may mark a return to its unrestrained, credit-fuelled growth, reversing years of work by regulators to reduce risks in the financial system and stem a rapid build-up in debt.

NDRC spokesperson Cong Liang told a media briefing that new spending on roads, railways, elderly care and education will not be as heavy as in the past, and will aim to meet real demand, reducing the risk of over-capacity.

Authorities are also hoping to attract private investment in such projects to reduce the government’s debt burden, he said, noting that regulators are relaxing restrictions on local governments’ ability to sell special bonds to fund projects.

Several large rail projects have been announced in just the last few days.

Yesterday the NDRC gave Jiangsu Communications Holdings the green light to sell up to 20 billion yuan (R41.3bn) of so-called enterprise bonds, or debt issued by state-owned firms.

Of the proceeds, 12bn yuan will be used to finance highspeed railway and toll road projects.

The issuance was the biggest enterprise bond approved by the NDRC since mid-June.

In a more tangible sign of pump-priming, builders and engineers started work on a revamp of a train station in southwest Beijing on Monday.

The station is said to be the biggest in Asia by size, and the project is budgeted to cost 7.2bn yuan. However, analysts such as Capital Economics have cautioned that new projects are unlikely to put a floor under economic growth until the middle of next year.

Cong reiterated a pledge made by the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo last month that China will still meet this year’s economic growth target of around 6.5 percent despite the trade war.

Analysts say that will surely require more spending. – Reuters