Market News International:
How will the central bank solve the problem of unbalanced distribution of credit resources among different regions? In addition, medium- and long-term loans to enterprises in China continue to rise, while investments in the manufacturing sector remain sluggish. What is the main reason for this and how can the issue be dealt with?
Liu Guiping:
Thank you for your questions. Mr. Zou will answer this question.
Zou Lan:
Thank you for your questions. We have also noticed that investments in manufacturing have been sluggish. Investments in the manufacturing sector fell by 2.2% year-on-year in 2020, for which we think there are many reasons. First, affected by the external economic environment and the COVID-19 pandemic, the liquidity of manufacturing enterprises was strained and so loans were mainly used to meet the liquidity demand. The enterprises' investment ability and confidence need to be restored.
Second, it is related with adjustments to the industrial structure. With the strong support of national policies, investments in high-tech manufacturing industries have grown rapidly, but the proportion of these industries in the whole manufacturing sector remains relatively limited.
Third, as manufacturing enterprises turn to an assets-light strategy, their investment needs have shifted. These enterprises have begun to lease, instead of purchase, plants and equipment, and the new business model of shared manufacturing is making gradual progress, which has caused relatively big changes in the enterprises' investment demands. To support the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry, the PBC, following the arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, has strengthened macro-prudential assessment, enhanced policy coordination and cooperation, and taken multiple measures together with other financial departments in recent years, which have promoted the substantial growth of medium- and long-term loans in the manufacturing industry. At the end of this February, the medium- and long-term loan balance of the manufacturing sector stood at 5.62 trillion yuan, up by 38.8% year-on-year and registering an increasing growth rate for 16 consecutive months, reversing the previous sluggish growth rate. Financial support for the manufacturing industry is paying off, and we believe this can drive investment in manufacturing to some extent.
We have also noticed the problem of unbalanced credit supply in different regions. We are analyzing the relevant issues and will take appropriate measures to solve the issue. Thank you.
Jiemian News:
The fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee proposed establishing a modern central banking system. The modern monetary framework is an important part of modern central banking system. What aspects are the PBC considering for improving the modern monetary framework to support high-quality development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period? Thank you.
Liu Guiping:
Thank you for your question. I'd like to invite Mr. Sun Guofeng to answer this question.
Sun Guofeng:
Thank you for your question. The fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee proposed that the 14th Five-Year Plan set the promotion of high-quality development as its theme. As such, the currency value must be kept stable and a sound monetary and financial environment can be provided for high-quality development. The monetary policy should be in accordance with the ultimate target stipulated by the Law of the People's Bank of China, which is "maintaining the stability of the currency value and thereby promoting economic growth." Keeping the currency value stable has both internal and external meanings. The internal meaning is to maintain price stability and to manage liquidity well. The annual Central Economic Work Conference in 2020 and the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 clearly state that the intermediate goal of monetary policy is maintaining the growth rate of money supply, and social financing basically matching the nominal economic growth rate, thus specifying the "anchor" of the monetary policy framework. In recent years, the PBC has promoted the quoted interest rate in the loan market, which is the loan prime rate (LPR) reform, and the transmission efficiency of monetary policy has been significantly improved. As the benchmark rate in the credit market, LPR has played an important role in adjusting credit supply and demand, thereby affecting the money supply. Maintaining LPR at a reasonable level is conducive to stabilizing the "anchor" of the money supply. Therefore, LPR is not only an important part of the market-based interest rate formation and transmission mechanism, but also a key component of the money supply control mechanism. LPR is formed based on policy rate quotes. By improving the policy rate system which employs the open market operations (OMOs) rate as the short-term policy rate and employs the medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate as the medium-term policy rate, the PBC has guided the market rate represented by DR007 to hover around the policy rate. The PBC has also improved the market-based interest rate formation and transmission mechanism from policy rate to LPR to the effective interest rate on loans, and by joining with improvements on money supply control mechanism as an organic whole, it has established the modern central banking system.
The external meaning of maintaining currency value stability is to keep the RMB exchange rate basically stable at an appropriate and balanced level. As such, it is necessary to enhance the RMB exchange rate flexibility, strengthen the macro-prudential management of cross-border capital, guide social expectations, and strike a balance between internal and external equilibriums. Thank you.
