PBOC’s Shanghai Arm Sets Out Second-Half Agenda to Support Real Economy

The Shanghai office of the People's Bank of China, the country’s central bank, has outlined its agenda for the second half of this year, aiming to make financial services more effective in supporting the real economy.

The authorities will go on implementing a moderately loose monetary policy, encourage banks and other financial institutions to identify viable lending opportunities, make greater use of structural monetary policy tools, and further advance the bond market's “sci-tech board” initiative in Shanghai to bolster financing for innovative businesses, the PBOC’s local branch said on its website on Aug. 4 following its second-half work conference earlier in the day.

The meeting also called for continued upgrades to financial administration and services in the six months to Dec. 31. Key initiatives include making payment services more convenient on a long-term basis, expanding the "buy now, refund now" instant tax refund program for foreign visitors, and beefing up the "easy go" platform for those same travelers.

At the same time, the office plans to steadily deepen financial reform and opening-up. It aims to build out a more complete foreign exchange management system, and implement new policies on the high-level opening-up of cross-border trade financing and investment, as well as overseas lending and corporate listings, and improve the ability of small and micro enterprises to hedge foreign exchange risks.

It will also coordinate cross-border and offshore finance, moving faster to roll out and deliver results from an all-encompassing pilot reform of offshore financial services. Other priorities include expanding the use of the digital yuan and its broader ecosystem, and continuing local legislative work in the financial sector.

In addition, the office will continue guarding against and defusing financial risks in key areas, including strengthening mechanisms to prevent and resolve systemic risk, cracking down on illegal financial activities, refining the macroprudential management framework, and improving the monitoring of cross-border financial risks, it stressed.