Central bank aims to remove ‘grey rhino’ risks

CHINA’S central bank said Thursday it will strengthen efforts to prevent “grey rhino” events and fend off risks of abnormal fluctuations in the financial markets.

The People’s Bank of China also reiterated it will strike a balance between stabilizing growth and preventing risks, and step up counter-cyclical adjustment of monetary policy, according to a statement on its website. Policymakers last year warned of potential “grey rhino” events — highly obvious yet ignored threats — surfacing in 2019 as the nation faces increasing uncertainties in the global economy and financial markets.

BYD electric-powered taxis run in Montreal

THE first batch of Chinese-made electric-powered taxis have started to run on the streets of Montreal, a Quebec-based company said Wednesday.

In total, more than 2,000 BYD pure electric e6 models are expected to hit the roads of the populous town in the province of Quebec in two years, according to the E-Taxi company, which is the first dealer in Canada for the Chinese automaker BYD. “We had approval from the government a few weeks ago. We are very excited to be in Quebec,” said Ted Dowling, vice president of BYD Canada. He said the “Montreal-style” BYD cars are built in Shenzhen.

Steel output rises on strong margins

CHINA’S daily steel output rose in January and February, as mills in the world’s top producer ramped up production amid firm steel margins and easier environmental restrictions.

Average daily steel output over the two months reached 2.54 million tons, up from 2.46 million tons in December and 2.32 million tons in the same months last year. Total steel output for the two months reached 149.58 million tons, up 9.2 percent from a year earlier.

Scrutiny tightened over margin financing

CHINA’S securities watchdog is tightening scrutiny over grey-market margin financing, barring brokerages from facilitating shadow lending and warning against risks of another credit-fuelled bubble.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said Wednesday that its subsidiary in eastern Zhejiang Province last week held a meeting with local brokerages, flagging potential risks associated with illegal margin financing and banning them from doing any form of business that could facilitate such a business.