SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s top planning agency on Saturday identified a second round of public investment projects, including flood control and disaster relief programs, under a bond issuance and investment plan announced in October to stimulate the economy. announced.
With the latest tranche, China focused on fiscal stimulus to shore up its sluggish economy, allocating more than 800 billion yuan of the 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion) in additional government bond issuance in the fourth quarter.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced in a statement on Saturday that it had identified 9,600 projects with planned investments of more than 560 billion yuan.
China’s economy, the world’s second-largest, is finding its footing after the coronavirus outbreak as policymakers grapple with slowing consumer demand, sluggish exports, declining foreign investment and a deepening real estate crisis. I’m having a hard time getting it back.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that with the issuance of an additional 1 trillion yuan in government bonds, China’s budget deficit ratio in 2023 will expand from 3% to approximately 3.8%.
“The construction of the project is of great importance as it will improve China’s flood control system, emergency response mechanism and disaster relief capacity, and better protect people’s lives and property,” the NDRC said.
The agency said it will coordinate with other government agencies to ensure that funds are quickly allocated for investment and that high quality standards are maintained in project construction.
(1 dollar = 7.1315 Chinese Yuan)
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Edmond Claman)
