China to push forward Wealth Management Connect

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) over the Wealth Management Connect (WMC) was signed last weekend, according to the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), accelerating the pace to integrate wealth management systems in the Greater Bay Area (GBA).

The MOU covers areas including supervisory information exchange, law enforcement cooperation, investor protection, and liaison and consultation, the PBoC said.

Financial regulators, including the PBOC, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and Monetary Authority of Macao, agreed to supervise and cooperate with each other over the pilot in the GBA within their duties. 

The WMC intends to reduce cross-boundary restrictions for nearly 70 million residents in the GBA to access wealth products.

Though details of the implementation have not been made public, it is a two-way scheme enabling residents of Hong Kong and Macao to invest in wealth management products distributed by mainland banks in the GBA, and residents of mainland cities in the GBA to invest in wealth management products distributed by Hong Kong and Macao’s local banks.  

Monetary policy

PBoC said in a policy report that it would aim for stability in monetary policy instead of adopting sharp changes, despite some market speculation that China may tighten monetary policies amid a better-than-expected economic recovery and mounting debts.

In the 2020 fourth quarter China monetary policy execution report, the PBC said its policies will aim at “maintaining the stability of the currency, and helping boost the economic growth”. To achieve that goal, the bank’s monetary policies will be “flexible”, “precise”, “reasonable” and “moderate”.

There is a focus on stability, instead of adopting “sharp turns,” the bank wrote in the report.

Market liquidity

China’s central bank on Tuesday conducted 50 billion yuan (US$7.75 billion) of reverse repos to keep liquidity stable in the banking system ahead of the Spring Festival holiday.

The interest rate for the seven-day reverse repos was set at 2.2%, according to the PBoC. With 80 billion yuan of reverse repos maturing on the same day, the move led to a net liquidity withdrawal of 30 billion yuan from the market.

A reverse repo is a process in which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.

International trade deal

The State Council has underlined the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as an important move in efforts to boost domestic reform and opening-up, with officials and experts urging businesses to brace for challenges and opportunities arising from the world’s largest trade pact.

In its executive meeting on February 3, China’s Cabinet called for an acceleration of domestic institutional reforms to facilitate the implementation of the RCEP, with measures to accelerate the formation of domestic regulations and guides on the rollout of the trade deal.

It was the third time the State Council convened an executive meeting to deliberate on the implementation of the trade pact since it was signed between 15 participating nations in November.

Company news

Chinese authorities held regulatory talks with representatives from Tesla over consumer complaints about car malfunctions, according to a statement released on Monday by China’s market regulator.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Cyberspace Administration of China, Ministry of Transport, and the fire and rescue bureau of the Ministry of Emergency Management talked with staff from Tesla’s branches in Beijing and Shanghai about problems reported by consumers concerning the cars’ abnormal accelerator operation, battery fires and over-the-air updates.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement that China urges Tesla to strictly abide by China’s laws and regulations to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

Baosheng Media Group Holdings Ltd, a Beijing-based online marketing solution provider, made its public debut on the Nasdaq Capital Market on Monday under the ticker symbol BAOS.

The deal involved 6 million ordinary shares at a price of US$5 per share, according to the company’s latest prospectus. The company expects to receive aggregate gross proceeds of US$30 million from the offering. Shares of Baosheng surged 77.2% to settle at 8.86 dollars apiece around market close.

The stories were compiled by Nadeem Xu and KoKo and first published at ATimesCN.com.