China Lowers Bank Reserve Requirement in Boost to Flagging Economy

Voice of America
18 Mar 2023, 08:06 GMT+10

Beijing - China's central bank on Friday announced a cut to the amount of cash banks are required to hold in reserve for the first time this year, in a move designed to shore up an economy weakened by the pandemic.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it would cut the reserve requirement ratio by 0.25 percentage point starting March 27, which would allow commercial banks to lend more to businesses.

This would bring the weighted average reserve requirement ratio for financial institutions to around 7.6%, the central bank said.

The PBOC said the latest cut was intended to 'improve the level of service to the real economy.'

The rate was last cut in November, when the world's second-largest economy was heavily hit by strict COVID-19 curbs.

China is still grappling with the fallout of its zero-COVID policy, which included harsh lockdowns and mass business closures, hitting supply chains and employment.

The country has set an economic growth target of 'around 5%' for 2023, one of the lowest in decades.

Authorities reported a rebound in retail sales in January and February, after the country abandoned zero-COVID controls and a massive exit wave of infections quickly subsided.

But Premier Li Qiang has warned that the growth target was 'not easy' to achieve as a grinding property crisis continued and global demand slowed.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to International Technology.

More Information

32 ℃

Mostly Cloudy in Seletar

Computers

Section

Amit Shah arrives in Bengaluru to attend Regional Conference on 'Drug Trafficking, National Security'

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 24 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived at Bengaluru in the early hours of Friday. ...

Amit Shah to visit K'taka tomorrow ahead of assembly polls

New Delhi [India], March 23 (ANI): Ahead of Karnataka assembly polls, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Karnataka on ...

Centring race: Why we need to think about gentrification differently

When we think of gentrification, we often think of how a neighbourhood's demographics and landscape are transformed. Luxury apartment blocks ...

Can the heat from running computers help grow our food? It's complicated

Digital technologies are changing how food is produced. And it's more than harvesting robots that are arriving on the scene. ...

Amit Shah to campaign in Karnataka on war-footing, visit state twice in next 5 days

New Delhi [India], March 21 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah has lined up fresh visits to poll-bound Karnataka in ...

Starlink Brought Internet to Brazil's Amazon. Criminals Love It.

Brazilian federal agents aboard three helicopters descended on an illegal mining site on Tuesday in the Amazon rainforest. They were ...

Internet

Section

Movie Review

The New York Ripper (Lo squartatore di New York) (4K UHD)

New York Ripper