IFF Newsletter Issue 53

TIME：2022-10-19

From the Editor

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China opened on Sunday with President Xi delivering a report to the congress. And China’s securities regulator is to ease shares buyback to bolster corporate value and protect the interest of small shareholders. China’s CPI rose 2.8% in September.

The finance chiefs of the Group of 20 met in Washington on Thursday without reaching a joint statement. US inflation rose 8.2% in September, higher than expected, which may trigger more rates hikes by the Fed. The British Pound rose against the dollar on Monday after Britain's new finance minister reversed almost all previous tax cuts. Australia and Singapore on Tuesday agreed on a green economy deal to boost cooperation on trade, economic and environmental objectives of the two countries.

The IFF continues to bring you the latest China news and global development.

Newsletter

China News

President Xi opens 20th Communist Party Congress

China's President Xi Jinping opened the 20th Communist Party Congress on Sunday with a speech hailing the country's zero Covid policy and urging a nation-wide effort to realise rejuvenation.

Recounting the achievement of the past five years, Xi said China would unswervingly support the private economy and let the market play decisive role in resource allocation.

Xi reiterated the importance of technological self-reliance and called for the implementation of innovation-driven development strategies.

Xi said the country would promote the energy revolution, strengthen the clean and efficient use of coal and accelerate the planning and construction of a new energy system.

China's CPI rises 2.8% in September

China's consumer inflation rose at its fastest pace in 29 months, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

China's September consumer prices rose 2.8% from a year ago, with much of the gains coming from food prices, which rose 8.8%, according to NBS data released on Friday.

Pork price surged 36% in September while fruit prices jumped 17.8% from a year ago.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, edged 0.6%.

Consumer prices in the first nine months of the year rose 2% from the same period last year.

China to ease shares buyback rules

China’s securities regulator said on Friday that it plans to revise rules to make it easier for listed firms to buy back shares, Reuters reported.

The draft rules will support listed companies to buy back shares and bolster corporate value and protect the interest of small shareholders.

Buybacks can be triggered when a company’s shares fall 25% within 20 consecutive trading days, according to the proposed new rules. The current trigger is a decline of 30%.

According to the rules, companies will be allowed to buy back their shares six months after listing, compared to 12 months now.

China’s September auto sales up 25.7%

China’s auto sales grew 25.7% in September from last year to 2.61 million vehicles, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed.

Sales of new energy vehicles (NEV), which include pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, rose 93.9% from the previous year.

Production of cars in September grew 28.1% to 2.67 million units.

China’s largest policy bank ups support for clean energy

China’s largest policy bank boosted loan support for clean energy development in the first three quarters of the year, Xinhua reported on Thursday.

China Development Bank issued 406.9 billion yuan in new loans to support clean energy development, energy support guarantee and clean and efficient use of coal in the first nine months of the year.

China’s Canton Fair opens online with record number of exhibits

China’s biggest and oldest trade fair- Canton Fair opened online on Saturday with a record number of exhibits, Chinese media reported.

More than 3 million exhibits from 35,000 Chinese and foreign companies are going to be presented at the fair, according to Xinhua citing the spokesperson of the fair.

Newsletter

International News

G20 finance chiefs disagree on geopolitical issues

Finance chiefs of the Group of 20 major economies clashed over geopolitical issues in a meeting in Washington on Thursday.

The G20 has a lot of huge gaps to bridge over geopolitical issues, said the group’s chair, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

The meeting ended without a joint statement.

Finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 however agreed on improving its common framework for debt restructuring and using resources and capacity to respond to the needs of many developing countries, Reuters reported citing Indrawati.

US inflation rises 8.2% in September

Consumer prices in the US rose 8.2% in September from a year ago, data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Thursday.

Housing, food and medical care were the largest contributors to price increases.

Core inflation, prices excluding food and energy, grew 6.6% in the 12 months to September.

The inflation rate is well above the central bank’s 2% target, indicating the Federal Reserve is likely to continue to hike up interest rates.

European outlook darkens as inflation persists, IMF

The European outlook has darkened as growth sets to drop and inflation persists, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday, citing Russian and Ukrainian conflicts as a major impediment.

Alfred Kammer, head of the IMF European department said the European growth forecast would fall from this year’s 3.2% to 0.6% in 2023.

He said inflation in the continent would decline steadily next year but would stay above the central bank’s objectives.

Inflation in advanced European economies would be at around 6% and 12% in emerging economies in 2023, according to the IMF’s forecast.

Kammer said that European governments should not only relieve energy supply constraints but ease tensions in labour markets, enhance productivity and expand economic capacity to raise growth and ease inflation pressures.

Australia, Singapore sign green economy deal

Australia and Singapore signed a green economy deal on Tuesday, the Australian government said in a statement.

The Singapore-Australia Green Economy Agreement aims to boost cooperation on trade, economic and environmental objectives of the two countries.

The GEA will reduce barriers to the trade in environmental goods and services, foster cooperation on regulations and standards and help the two countries adopt environmental measures to facilitate trade and investment, according to the statement.

Pound rises as new UK finance minister reverses tax cuts

The British pound rose on Monday after Britain’s new finance minister reversed nearly all tax cut plans announced by the government weeks ago.

Jeremy Hunt, Britain’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer, said on Monday that he was scrapping “almost all” the tax cuts announced last month.

The pound was trading at $1.14 after falling to a record low in September after the government announced its tax cuts.

Turkey backs Russian gas hub plan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday backed Russian gas hub plan in Turkey, according to media reports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed making Turkey a gas hub for its gas supply to Europe.

Erdogan said that he had instructed the energy ministry to immediately begin technical work on a Russian proposal, the Associated Press reported citing Turkish news media.

Russian and Turkish would work together to designate a location for a gas distribution centre, according to the AP.