CHINA / Trade |
Expert: Beijing could issue more bonds to buy FX(Reuters)Updated: 2007-07-27 16:29 China could issue additional special treasury bonds so that its fledgling state investment agency can buy more foreign exchange, according to a leading fiscal policy researcher. The finance ministry will issue 1.55 trillion yuan worth of 10-year bonds that will be swapped with the central bank, via an intermediary financial institution, for $200 billion of its currency reserves. The foreign exchange assets will be managed by the new investment agency, which will have a mandate to take more risks in order to generate higher returns. Jia Kang, president of the Institute of Fiscal Sciences, a Ministry of Finance think-tank, said the transaction was unlikely to be the last of its kind. China's foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $1.33 trillion at the end of June, were likely to keep rising for the foreseeable future. "I fully believe we can issue long-term treasury bonds, say 30-year ones, to deal with foreign exchange reserves in future," he said at a regular Reuters forum of Chinese government and academic economists this week.
Jia said he was expressing his personal views. "Since we have started to go down the path of fiscal intervention, we should consider whether we can further leverage this approach," he said. Jia said the government's low levels of debt meant it would have no problem redeeming the big bond issues when they mature years hence. "In my view, we still have great potential to use long-term bonds to deal with foreign exchange reserve growth," said Jia. |
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