China to introduce incremental fiscal policy measures

CHINA’S Ministry of Finance is poised to introduce a comprehensive package of targeted new policy measures soon, focused on stabilising growth, expanding domestic demand and mitigating risks. The measures will focus on improving the financial situations of local governments, facilitating the stabilisation of a bottomed out property market, and enhancing the risk resilience and credit allocation capabilities of major banks, amongst others. China has vowed to ramp up support for local governments to help them resolve debt risks, including substantially increasing debt quotas and assisting with the mitigation of hidden debt, said Finance Minister Lan Fo’an at a news conference on Saturday. “This policy push is aimed at providing local governments with the necessary financial resources and policy space to focus on driving development and safeguarding people’s livelihoods,” Lan said.