Finance1 min read

Can Beijing's latest measures stop China's stock market slide?

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The intervention follows an 8.5 percent drop in the CSI300 Index during October, which represented its steepest monthly downturn since 2016. In response, the People's Bank of China cut the interest rate on its permanent share-buyback lending facility to 1 percent and deployed an asset-swap mechanism to supply equity buyers with liquid assets. While 31 securities and fund firms have already requested over 100 billion yuan in swaps, analysts caution that repurchases could increase corporate debt if economic fundamentals fail to improve.

Key points

  • Policymakers are prioritizing liquidity injections and cheaper corporate financing to pre…: Policymakers are prioritizing liquidity injections and cheaper corporate financing to prevent deeper downturns rather than spark immediate rallies.
  • Debt-funded share buybacks pose financial risks for participating companies if equity val…: Debt-funded share buybacks pose financial risks for participating companies if equity values continue to slide amid ongoing economic sluggishness.
  • Long-term stabilization of Chinese equities requires improvements in corporate profits, d…: Long-term stabilization of Chinese equities requires improvements in corporate profits, domestic consumption, and overall investor sentiment.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

analysis East Asia

Can Beijing's latest measures stop China's stock market slide?

Beijing’s measures may steady stocks for now, but analysts say a lasting recovery needs stronger growth and investor confidence.

SINGAPORE: In a bid to help stabilise the country’s struggling stock market, Chinese authorities rolled out fresh measures this week to boost liquidity, cut rates for share buy-back loans and ease curbs on leveraged trading.

It comes after the benchmark CSI300 Index plunged 8.5 per cent in October, its worst monthly performance since early 2016.

Sharp falls in tech stocks have also added to investor jitters over the world’s second-largest economy, which has been grappling with sluggish consumption and a prolonged property sector debt crisis.

Beijing is now making it easier and cheaper for financial institutions and companies to buy shares in an effort to stem the market's slide, analysts told CNA.

But the latest intervention appears aimed more at preventing further losses than sparking a sustained rally, they said - noting that a lasting recovery would require stronger economic growth, improved corporate earnings and a revival in investor…

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