28/04/2020
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s factory activity likely rose for a second straight month in April as more businesses re-opened from strict lockdowns implemented to contain the coronavirus outbreak, which has now paralysed the global economy.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI), due for release on Thursday, is forecast to fall to 51 in April, from 52 in March, according to the median forecast of 32 economists polled by Reuters. A reading above the 50-point mark indicates an expansion in activity.
While the forecast PMI would show a slight moderation in China’s factory activity growth, it would be a stark contrast to recent PMIs in other economies, which plummeted to previously unimaginable lows.
That global slump, caused by heavy government-ordered lockdowns, as well as the cautious resumption of business in China, suggests any recovery in the world’s second-largest economy is likely to be some way off.
“The recovery so far has been led by a bounce-back in production, however, the growth bottleneck has decisively shifted to the demand side, as global growth has weakened and consumption recovery has lagged amid continued social distancing,” Morgan Stanley said in a note.
“The expected slump in external demand has likely capped further recovery in industrial production.”
The latest official data showed 84% of mid-sized and small business had reopened as of April 15, compared with 71.7% on March 24.
Hobbled by the coronavirus, China’s economy shrank 6.8% in the first quarter from a year earlier, the first contraction since current quarterly records began.
That has left Chinese manufacturers with reduced export orders and a logistics logjam, as many exporters grapple with rising inventory, high costs and falling profits. Some have let workers go as part of the cost-cutting efforts.
A China-based brokerage Zhongtai Securities estimated that the country’s real unemployment rate, measured using international standards, could exceed 20%, equal to more than 70 million job losses and much higher than March’s official reading of 5.9%.
Sheng Laiyun, deputy head at the statistics bureau, said on Sunday migrant workers and college graduates are facing increasing pressures to secure jobs, while official jobless surveys show nearly 20% of employed workers not working in March.
Chinese authorities have rolled out more support to revive the economy. The People’s Bank of China earlier in April cut the amount of cash banks must hold as reserves and reduced the interest rate on lenders’ excess reserves.
Source: Reuters
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31/03/2020
Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visits a tea farm in Huangjingtang Village in Xianning City, central China’s Hubei Province, March 31, 2020. Sun, who is leading a central guiding group to oversee the epidemic control work in Hubei, inspected spring plowing and production resumption in Xianning on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Li He)
WUHAN, March 31 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan Tuesday called for efforts to organize spring plowing and help enterprises resume work and production.
Leading a central guiding group to oversee the epidemic control work in Hubei Province, the previous epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic, Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while inspecting spring plowing and production resumption in the Hubei city of Xianning.
The group visited a tea farm and two enterprises in the city.
While ensuring the epidemic control, efforts should also be made to capitalize on the window for spring plowing, Sun said, urging strengthened farm management, detailed technical guidance for farmers, convenient transportation for agricultural materials and more help for Hubei to sell farm products.
Sun also stressed that during this critical period to resume work and production, the supporting measures for industries should be improved to provide more driving forces for enterprises.
Preferential policies for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises should be fully implemented, Sun noted, adding that the problems of local authorities and enterprises should be solved in a timely manner.
Source: Xinhua
Posted in Chinese Vice Premier, COVID-19 epidemic, epicenter, hubei province, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, production, resumption, spring plowing, Uncategorized, urges, Xianning |
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