China forex reserves rise slightly in Mar

Five big banks see faster profit growth

FE Team | Published: April 08, 2018 23:39:49

BEIJING, Apr 08 (Agencies): China's foreign exchange reserves edged up 0.27 per cent from a month earlier to 3.1428 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of March, the People's Bank of China said Sunday. The increase reversed a slight decline seen in February. Previously, the forex reserves gained for 12 consecutive months between February 2017 and January 2018.
"The foreign exchange market continued to see generally balanced supply and demand," the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement.
The administration mainly attributed the slight increase to the global financial market's rising effort to avert risk, the appreciation of some major currencies against the U.S. dollar, as well as asset price changes. "The yuan's exchange rate against the dollar has continued two-way fluctuations and remained basically stable, and the foundation for generally balanced cross-border capital flow has become stronger," SAFE said, citing sound growth, better economic structure and higher growth quality in China. Looking into the future, SAFE sees the forex reserves stockpile holding steady, after taking into consideration both domestic and external factors, including volatility and uncertainties in the global financial market. According to PBOC data, China's gold reserves remained unchanged in March at 59.24 million ounces, with a higher value of 78.42 billion dollars, up from 78.06 billion dollars in February.
Meanwhile, China's five major banks reported faster net profit growth and lower bad loan rates in 2017. The country's biggest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), saw its net profit up by 3.0 per cent in 2017, while Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of Communications all posted 4.0-per cent-plus growth. The five banks registered less than two per cent or even negative growth in 2016.
Zeng Gang with the China Academy of Social Sciences attributed the growth to improved asset quality and rising net interest margins. Many firms are more capable of paying back their loans as supply-side reform has helped their financial performance, easing the pressure on banks, Zeng added.
The non-performing loan rates of the five banks all fell last year, the first time in six years.
The banking regulator decided last month to lower required provision coverage ratio, a measure of funds set aside to cover bad loans. But four of the five banks raised their provision coverage ratio as their asset quality improved.
Another report adds: China saw 100 million domestic tourist trips during the three-day tomb-sweeping holiday, up 8.3 per cent from last year's holiday, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The tourism revenue reached 42.1 billion yuan (about 6.7 billion U.S. dollars) during the holiday which lasts from Thursday to Saturday, up 8.0 per cent, according to the ministry.
While tourists still favor sites of natural scenes, an increasing number of people chose to visit martyrs' cemeteries and memorial sites of revolution, the ministry said in a report.
The Tomb-sweeping Day, or Qingming Festival, is an important occasion for Chinese people to honor their ancestors. Many also spent the three-day holiday on leisure travel.