介绍:
Shanghai FTZ lifts foreign-currency deposit rates cap
Central bank here in China is taking another step toward creating more financial freedom in the Free Trade Zone in Shanghai.
In its latest move, the PBOC is set to remove the interest rate ceilings on smaller foreign-currency deposits in the FTZ.
The new rules will be effective from March 1st.
The relaxation of the rules applies to deposits of less than 3 million U.S. dollars.
Currently, regulatory caps apply to one-year or other shorter-term deposits in U.S. dollars, the Japanese yen, euros and Hong Kong dollars.
Deposits worth more than 3 million U.S. dollars are not subject to the interest rate ceilings.
The move marks the full liberalization of interest rates on foreign-currency deposits in the FTZ.
Zhang Xin is the deputy director of the PBOC's Shanghai headquarters.
"We hope that the Shanghai FTZ could well-manage the risk control in their daily work; particularly in the areas of monitoring massive deposit transfer and large-scale cross-border arbitrage. To be vigilant in assessment and enhance check-ups to fluctuations in a timely manner."
Official data shows foreign-currency deposits in the Shanghai FTZ currently total 4.8-billion U.S. dollars.
Among this, 1.2 billion U.S. dollars is the smaller deposit category.
New gauges fueling fears over China credit crisis
Anchor:
New gauges are showing Chinese banks are becoming increasingly reluctant to lend to one another, refreshing fears about another spike in this country's intra-bank lending rates and the overall credit market.
At the same time, investors are also showing a preference for safer government bonds.
The spread between the two-year sovereign yield and the similar-maturity interest-rate swap is around 110 basis points, signalling significant financial stress.
As of February last year, the spread only averaged around 20.
Adding to the concern, billionaire investor George Soros has come out recently suggesting the situation in China right now mirrors that in the US before the 2008 financial crisis.
For more on this CRI's Paul James was earlier joined by by Cao Can, our financial commentator.
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That was CRI's Paul James speaking to our financial commentator Cao Can.
Quantas reports 250 million AUS dollar loss; cuts 5000 jobs
Quantas, Australia's national airline, is reporting pre-tax losses of over a quarter of a billion Australian dollars.
The unprecedented loss over the six months to Christmas, has pushed the company to announce the shedding of 5,000 jobs in an attempt to shave costs.
Embattled Irish-born Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce acknowledged the result as catastrophic despite having forecast closer to a 300 million Australian dollar deficit.
Joyce is attributing this disastrous performance on other government owned carriers adding a sleuth of extra seats.
The reason was also used to build a case for government intervention for the airline which is not allowed to access foreign capital.
The federal government is reportedly drafting legislation allowing an increase in the foreign ownership of Qantas.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has repeatedly expressed reluctance to engage in any kind of commercial intervention on behalf of Qantas, whose diabolical financial woes are widely seen as self-inflicted rather than as victim of circumstance.
Abbot told reporters, Tuesday, that Qantas did not have to guarantee a certain number of jobs in Australia in exchange for the relaxed foreign ownership laws.
Volkswage recalling 9000 small vans
FAW-Volkswagen is recalling over 9-thousand of its Caddy small delivery vans in China due to a defect with the tailgate.
The recall, which starts today, affects vehicles manufactured between Dec. 22, 2004 and July 11, 2007.
The bolt connecting the gas-pressure shock absorbers with the tailgate may become damaged in some vehicles, which could in extreme conditions cause the tailgate to fall by itself, leading to safety hazards, the statement said.
FAW-Volkswagen, a joint venture between China's FAW Group and German automaker Volkswagen, will replace defective parts in those vehicles free of charge to eliminate the problem.
IFC to issue record RMB bonds in London
The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, is going to issue RMB-denominated bonds in London next month.
The issue, worth 1 billion yuan, is the largest ever on the London Stock Exchange.
This will act as an alternative source of RMB funding for investments in China.
The Chinese government is trying to speed up its promotion of the internationalization of the Renminbi this year.
The plans include trying to create more RMB settlement in international trade, encouraging the development of offshore RMB-denominated financial products, and encouraging central banks to hold the currency as part of their foreign exchange reserves.
South Korea to adopt QE to stabilise mortgage market
South Korea is adopting a quasi- quantitative easing (QE) to stabilize the mortgage market.
The Finance Ministry, Bank of Korea (BOK) and Financial Services Commission (FSC) on Thursday unveiled a joint plan to speed up the restructuring of household debt.
Household debt in the country last year topped 1,000 trillion won (about 940 billion U.S. dollars), fueling fears that it will hurt private consumption.
Under the plan, the central bank will buy mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issued by the Korea Housing Finance Corp. (KHFC), the state-run long-term housing fund provider, when it conducts open market operations.
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