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Analysts warn more detail needed on new China economic measures

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Analysts gave a cautious welcome to China’s announcement Saturday of fresh fiscal stimulus to revive its ailing economy but warned that more details — and specific headline figures — were needed before its effect could be fully assessed.

At a highly anticipated news conference, Beijing said it would issue special bonds to boost the capital available to banks, as well as allow local governments to borrow more.

The moves add to a series of measures unveiled in recent weeks that have included interest rate cuts and liquidity injections for banks, all aimed at kick-starting China’s dragging economy.

Leaders said recently that the government’s official growth target for this year of about five percent was within reach.

But economists have warned that a robust fiscal stimulus programme is necessary in order to boost domestic spending and achieve the full post-pandemic recovery that has so far eluded policymakers.

‘Devil in details’

“The surprise today is that there is no specific number,” Heron Lim of Moody’s Analytics told AFP after the Saturday press conference, saying it looked like the government was “still working on the minute details of the fiscal stimulus”.

“Unfortunately for China, the devil is in the details. It would be preferable that they do have some headline numbers for people to chew on,” he added.

“In the meantime, investors might be taking a step back until they are absolutely certain of the direction fiscal support is taking.”

Although Saturday’s news conference did not unveil a “bazooka” stimulus package, which investors have been clamouring for, comments by officials on expanding central support for the economy received some praise.

Finance Minister Lan Fo’an said the government was “accelerating the use of additional treasury bonds, and ultra-long-term special treasury bonds are also being issued for use”.

The debt ceiling of local governments would also be increased, in theory empowering them to spend more on infrastructure and protect jobs.

“These policies are in the right direction,” said Pinpoint Asset Management’s Zhang Zhiwei in a note.

“While (Lan) didn’t say explicitly that they will raise fiscal deficit, I think his comments imply that it is possible the government will raise fiscal deficit above three percent for next year,” he wrote.

Such a move would represent a “meaningful shift” in Beijing’s fiscal policy approach, said Zhang, helping to “boost domestic demand and mitigate the deflationary pressure in the economy”.

But the impact of new policies on China’s broader economic outlook will depend on their “size and composition” — again, details that have yet to be announced — he said.

Long-term change ahead?

A major focus of Saturday’s news conference was the government’s efforts to shield local authorities from spiralling debt that could have negative spillover into the economy.

Xing Zhaopeng, senior China strategist at ANZ, said the messaging showed officials were focused on “derisking local governments”.

A new quota for treasury and local bonds, as well as a debt swap programme that could reach 10 trillion yuan ($1.42 trillion) in the coming years, is expected, he said.

Such moves would represent “long-term and structural change”, Xing added, noting that “local governments are the growth drivers in China”.

Other headwinds — including sluggish consumption and high youth unemployment — threaten to dampen economic vitality.

“Fiscal commitment needs to be more robust to offset the drag from households and the private corporate sector,” Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis, told AFP.

Beijing had not yet decided on the size of its eventual fiscal stimulus package, said Ng, “meaning the impact on growth will depend on whether such announcements are enough to boost confidence.

“More needs to be done regarding implementation and injecting actual new fiscal money.”

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FLASHBACK: “Jonathan Is A Drunk, A Sinking Fisherman”— Tinubu’s Past Insults On Jonathan Resurfaces As Police Begin Crackdown On Citizens Criticizing Govt Officials

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December 22, 2024

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Tinubu mustered the temerity to call the President of Nigeria a drunkard, a sinking fisherman. This was how Tinubu put it: “I think the President is wrong because that is an insult to our parents. It is a speech from a drunk sailor fisherman whose boat is about to capsize.

As Nigerian authorities begin a controversial clampdown on citizens criticizing government officials on social media, an old episode from the country’s political history has resurfaced, bringing to light the sharp rhetoric of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his time as Lagos State Governor.   Tinubu mustered the temerity to call the President of Nigeria a drunkard, a sinking fisherman. This was how Tinubu put it: “I think the President is wrong because that is an insult to our parents. It is a speech from a drunk sailor fisherman whose boat is about to capsize.

Another Man Arrested for Insulting Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu, As Police Begin Crack Down on Nigerians Insulting Politicians on Social Media   In a flashback to 2011, Tinubu, then the national leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), launched a verbal assault on then-President Goodluck Jonathan, describing him as a “drunk sailor fisherman” whose “boat is about to capsize.” Tinubu’s comments came in reaction to a statement made by Jonathan at a campaign rally in Ibadan, where the President had referred to the need to rescue the Southwest from the hands of “rascals.”   Tinubu, speaking at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos on his way to Abuja for an ACN campaign event, called Jonathan’s remarks an insult to Yoruba parents. “You don’t come to this land, seek our votes, and then insult our parents, saying they raised rascals,” Tinubu said. “It is a speech from a drunk sailor fisherman whose boat is about to capsize.”

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Fraudsters move to defraud home-bound Imo residents in Lagos

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December 22, 2024

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GOVERNMENT OF IMO STATE

PRESS RELEASE

Fraudsters move to defraud home-bound Imo residents in Lagos

A group of persons believed to be fraudsters, and poised to take advantage of the massive return of Imo indigenes resident in Lagos for the Yuletide, has devised devious means to defraud the unsuspected ones among them in the guise of providing them with free transportation from Lagos to Owerri, Okigwe and Orlu.

To make their devilish intention look real, they have raised a press statement they purport was issued from my office for such a project.

In their warped imagination, they have deliberately fixed December 24, 2024 and January 4, 2025, as the days their prey and unsuspecting home-bound Lagos residents should approach them for a trip back home and return trip back to Lagos respectively.

Below is part of their poorly written press statement:

“The buses are free for Imolites from *Lagos to Imo State on *24th December* and back to Lagos on *4th January* .

“Interested persons should please call *(ISTDAL)* *08033255565, 08092362966* or *07089303866* for seats reservation.

“Please the buses are free and is on first come accreditation bases, once the seats are fully booked, the registration closes, ( *_PLS DO NOT PAY ANYBODY ONE KOBO_)*

“Please the buses are *NOT LUXURY BUSES* , so only passengers with a small sizable luggages will be allowed. (no big boxes or load is allowed).

“The buses will leave on *Tuesday 24th December* at exactly *7.15am* to *Owerri, Okigwe and Orlu.*

“The departure point will be made available after your registration, *(if you are not captured on accreditation, pls don’t bother coming as only accreditated passengers are allowed)* and please indicate your direction.

“*Note: the bus will not stop or drop any passenger until it passes Ihiala unto Imo State.*

“Thanks and best regards.”

For the avoidance of doubt, the Office of the Chief Press Secretary/Special Adviser Media to the Governor did not issue any statement on the trending fraudulent travel plan.

The statement is both false and deceptive, and could not have emanated from the government.

Therefore, the general public, and particularly Imolites who live in Lagos and any other part of the country and who intend to be home for the Yuletide should not take the statement and the authors seriously as they will be doing so at their own peril.

Please, be properly guided.

Oguwike Nwachuku
Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser to the Governor
December 22, 2024.

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For inside Delta Staati: Meet efe money wey k!dnap him Friend con bęhe*d that he friend, b*ry the he*d for shr!ne and were still collecting money from the boy family wey him kee

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18 hours ago

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December 22, 2024

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UPDATE:

Meet efe money wey k!dnap him Friend con bęhe*d that he friend, b*ry the he*d for shr!ne and were still collecting money from the boy family wey him kee

The person wey the Mr Efe kee so na him t!ght friend, na destiny helper to efe. The person wey efe kee so give efe all the access to heąd over hís invęstments.

Nothing this very guy dey do wey him no dey tell this ev!l boy called Efe.

Na the guy he*d Mr Efe hoļd for hand so when police go remøve the he*d for where Efe bųřy am pųt.

 

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