11.45am
Zhou said China’s economy had the potential to grow. The 12 per cent M2 monetary growth target set in this year’s government work report was an expectation, not a task, the central bank governor said. “We will fine-tune financing and loans when necessary,” he said. Last year, home credit grew rapidly, which was expected to drive demand in a long chain of industries, according to Zhou. This year, mortgage loans are expected to continue to grow relatively fast. Zhou said the PBOC would properly balance growth, and that after policy adjustments, property loan growth was expected to slow moderately.
