CBN丨Local governments plans ahead for 2023 special bond issuance

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

大家好，我是主持人李莹亮。

Coming up on today’s program.

重点提要

• Chinese local governments prepare to start issuing 2023 special bond quota in January;

• China will start issuing new passports and Hong Kong travel permits to mainland residents.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours

中国经济要闻

Many Chinese local governments intend to start issuing local government special bonds, which are used to finance infrastructure, utility, energy and other public welfare projects, as early as next month to get major infrastructure projects underway as soon as possible and stabilize macroeconomic performance.

Over 10 Chinese provincial and municipal governments have already announced plans to release more than 600 billion yuan worth of local government special bonds, which are made up of new and refinancing special bonds, in the first three months, according to the timetables released by these governments.

Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces in eastern China, southern Hainan province and central Hunan province have all said they will start issuing special bonds in January and other provincial-level regions have said they will follow in February and March.

Local governments’ newly issued debt in the first quarter is likely to tally over 1 trillion yuan, experts noted. In the first three months of 2022, such bonds amounted to 1.57 trillion yuan. And as of Dec. 26, 4.7 trillion yuan had been issued by local governments this year, the most ever.

Local governments will start issuing their 2023 bond quota early in order to put the funds raised to use in major projects as soon as possible, experts said, which will greatly help spur economic data and boost market confidence.

Usually, the finance ministry allocates the quota every March after it is approved by the National People’s Congress. The schedule means that local government bonds tend to be issued in the second half of the year, affecting financing efficiency. However, since 2018, in order to speed up their disbursement in the economy, the congress has been approving up to 60 percent of the following year’s quota ahead of time.

为了稳定宏观经济，政府投资力度不减，财政政策正提前发力。

近日地方密集加快重大工程项目建设，为了给项目筹资，已经有10多个省区市公布了明年1月乃至一季度的地方政府债券发行计划，发债规模超过6000亿元。专家普遍预计，明年一季度新增债券发行规模将超过1万亿元。

12月份以来，地方抓好重大项目建设等，广东、广西、河南、湖北等地重大项目密集开工。

不久前，国务院常务会议在部署推动经济巩固回稳基础、保持运行在合理区间时，要求推动重大项目建设和设备更新改造形成更多实物工作量，符合冬季施工条件的项目不得停工。

而为了给一些政府投资项目筹资，地方已经计划在明年初开始发行地方政府新增债券。根据公开数据，目前浙江、江苏、福建、湖南、甘肃等地已经公布了明年一季度发债计划，地方政府新增债券发行规模超过6400亿元。而专家普遍预计，明年一季度新增债券发行规模将超过1万亿元。

根据部分省份公开的政府债券发行计划表，2023年，福建计划在1月中旬发行200亿元新增专项债券，浙江计划在1月下旬发行560亿元新增专项债券，湖南计划发行新增专项债券和一般债券合计291亿元，海南计划发行1114亿元新增债券，江苏计划1月发行152亿元一般债券。更多的省份还计划在2月或3月份发债。

专家表示，明年一季度必须要有一定的赤字和债务规模支持积极的财政政策实施，无论是通过收入端的减税降费稳定市场主体，还是支出端的拉动基建投资扩大总需求，都要求赤字和债务支撑。一季度财政发力不仅是提振经济数据，而且对提振信心极为重要。

今年中央经济工作会议明确，明年的积极的财政政策要加力提效。保持必要的财政支出强度，优化组合赤字、专项债、贴息等工具，在有效支持高质量发展中保障财政可持续和地方政府债务风险可控。

专家普遍预计，2023年地方政府新增债券发行总量可能会比今年略有增加。根据公开发债数据，截至今年12月25日，地方政府新增债券发行约4.76万亿元，创历史新高。

• China will optimize immigration administration policies and measures starting from Jan. 8, 2023, the National Immigration Administration said on Tuesday. Chinese citizens' applications for ordinary passports for tourism purposes as well as for visiting friends and relatives abroad and for mainland residents to visit Hong Kong will be resumed, according to the announcement. Meanwhile, services related to foreigners' applications for visas and residence permits will also be resumed, including urgent services, the administration said.

  1月8日起优化移民管理政策措施：国家移民管理局27日发布关于新型冠状病毒感染“乙类乙管”后优化移民管理政策措施的公告。公告指出，国家移民管理局自2023年1月8日起优化移民管理政策措施，有序恢复受理审批中国公民因出国旅游、访友申请普通护照，恢复办理内地居民旅游、商务赴港签注。恢复受理审批外国人申请普通签证延期、换发、补发，停留证件签发、换发、补发，居留证件签发、延期、换发、补发。

Greater Bay Area, Greater future

新使命，大未来

• Hong Kong announced to further ease pandemic control policies, including scraping quarantine measures and remove all mandatory Covid test on the borders, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said at a press briefing today. The city will also no longer require residents to show their “vaccine pass” before entering public venues, stop identifying close contacts of confirmed patients, and cancel all social distancing measures including gathering bans.

  香港取消所有入境强制核酸检测：28日，香港特区行政长官李家超召开“应对疫情指导及协调组”记者会，宣布进一步优化香港防疫措施，优化详情如下：一、取消检疫令，并不再甄别确诊者的密切接触者；二、取消“疫苗通行证”措施；三、取消所有入境强制核酸检测；四、取消所有社交距离措施，包括“限聚令”等。

Next on industry and company news

产业及公司新闻

• Users of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group’s app and WeChat mini-program from the Chinese mainland can register to receive German firm BioNTech’s mRNA Covid-19 vaccine in Hong Kong. After the Chinese mainland residents’ application has been approved by Fosun Pharma, they can go to Hong Kong at their own expense and receive a jab of the Comirnaty vaccine as booster shot, the Shanghai-based firm said in a statement yesterday..

  复星开通赴港复必泰二价疫苗预约：复必泰二价mRNA疫苗日前已获批在中国香港上市。12月27日，复星健康宣布，其线上平台已正式开通赴港接种复必泰二价疫苗意向登记。即日起，用户可登录复星健康平台或微信小程序，在首页找到“新冠疫苗”入口，进行赴港复必泰二价疫苗的接种意向登记，预约成功后可在两地正式恢复通关后前往香港自费接种复必泰二价疫苗。

• Foxconn is offering one-off bonuses to entice dispatch workers to continue a few weeks longer at the world's largest iPhone factory in China. Foxconn is offering incentives of up to 5,000 yuan for key workstation positions in the Zhengzhou plant’s manufacturing department, if dispatch workers extend their stay to March 20 from Feb. 15, when their contracts are due to expire, it said on WeChat Tuesday. For non-critical stations in the same department, it is offering up to 4,700 yuan per dispatch worker, while other departments are offering 4,500 yuan.

  郑州富士康发布员工留任奖金政策：12月27日，据“富士康iDPBG郑州招募”官方微信，富士康数位产品事业群郑州厂区发布通知称，结合用工单位生产及员工需求，针对派遣政策到期之员工进行留任。 其中，制造部门(关键工站)留任奖金为5000元/人，制造部门（非关键工站）为4700元/人，非制造部门为4500元/人。留任对象为2022年12月25日差价&返费政策到期出名单之派遣工，留任周期为明年1月1日至3月20日。

• Chinese new energy vehicle startup Nio said it had lowered its delivery outlook for the fourth quarter by 10 to 18 percent due to the impact of Covid-19. The carmaker expects to deliver between 38,500 and 39,500 cars in the period, versus a forecast of between 43,000 and 48,000 units released earlier, the Shanghai-based firm said in a filing yesterday.

  蔚来下调四季度交付量预期：蔚来汽车发布有关调整2022年第四季度交付展望的公告，根据该公告显示，预计今年第四季度将交付38500-39500辆汽车。蔚来解释称：2022年12月，由于奥密克戎冠状病毒变种在中国主要城市爆发，导致公司在生产和交付方面面临挑战，叠加某些供应链的限制，以及终端用户参与交付和登记环节受到干扰。而在此之前，蔚来汽车曾预测公司四季度交付量将在43000-48000辆之间，此次调整幅度达10%-18%。

Switching gears to financial news

金融市场消息

• China's loan demand rose in the fourth quarter of 2022, a survey of the country's bankers showed. The index gauging the overall demand for loans stood at 59.5 percent in Q4, up 0.5 percentage points compared with Q3, the People's Bank of China said Tuesday, citing the result of a survey among senior management of the country's some 3,200 banking institutions. The loan demand in manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and real estate sectors all edged up in Q4.

  四季度贷款总体需求指数上升：12月27日，人民银行发布四季度全国银行家问卷调查。结果显示，四季度贷款总体需求指数比上季上升0.5个百分点至59.5%。分行业看，制造业贷款需求指数、基础设施贷款需求指数、批发零售业贷款需求指数分别为62.2%、60.6%、57.1%%。值得注意的是，四季度房地产企业贷款需求指数为43.7%，比上季上升3.1个百分点。

• Country Garden will receive an interest-free and unsecured loan of HK$5.06 billion from its co-chairwoman and executive director Yang Huiyan for the company's operation and development. Earlier this month, Yang gained HK$5.06 billion by selling 237 million shares of her stake in the property management unit Country Garden Services.

  碧桂园获大股东“输血”：12月27日晚间，碧桂园在港交所发布公告，12月27日，公司与控股股东必胜公司订立贷款协议，必胜公司已同意借出本金额为50.55亿港元的贷款，以支持公司经营发展。该贷款为免息及无抵押，初始期限为三年一个月，可由订约双方于届满前以书面形式延长。资料显示，必胜公司是由碧桂园联席主席杨惠妍全资持股的企业，半个月前，杨惠妍通过出售碧桂园服务股权套现约50.55亿港元。

Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market

股市收盘情况

• Chinese stocks fell on Wednesday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite sliding 0.26 percent, while the Shenzhen Component fell 0.86 percent. Hong Kong stocks ended on a positive note. The Hang Seng index gained 1.56 percent, and the TECH index climbed 2.14 percent.

  A股收跌港股走高：周三A股全天低开后震荡调整，创业板指领跌。截至收盘，沪指跌0.26%，深成指跌0.86%，创业板指跌0.9%。沪深两市今日成交额6508亿。港股恒指收涨1.56%，恒生科技指数收涨2.14%。

Biz Word of the Day

财经词汇划重点

• Comirnatyis an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by the German biotechnology company BioNTech. It is composed of nucleoside-modified mRNA (modRNA) encoding a mutated form of the full-length spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which is encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles. Fosun Pharma won the exclusive China rights to develop and commercialize BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine in March 2020.

  复必泰疫苗，是一种专门对抗严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV2）的2019冠状病毒病疫苗，为一种信使核糖核酸（mRNA）疫苗。复星医药和德国BioNTech于2020年3月16日宣布达成战略合作协议，将共同在中国大陆及港澳台地区开发、商业化基于BioNTech专有的mRNA技术平台研发的、针对新型冠状病毒的疫苗产品，上海复星医药拥有在中国大陆及港澳台地区的独家销售权。

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI

Writer: Stephanie LI

Sound Editor: Stephanie LI

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.

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策划、编辑：李艳霞

播音：李莹亮

撰稿：李莹亮

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