Banks, insurers urged to aid logistics sector

CHINESE regulators urged banks and insurers to offer financial support for the cargo and logistics sector, which has been affected by COVID-19 outbreaks.

To ensure stable supply chains, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission asked financial institutions to pull out all the stops to support freight logistics firms and truck drivers, a statement showed yesterday.

Domestic ETF market up 30.55% in 2021

DOMESTIC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) developed rapidly in China in 2021, as their value climbed 30.55% year on year, said the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in a research report.

The scale of ETFs listed and traded on the Chinese mainland hit 1.4 trillion yuan (US$220.13 billion) by the end of 2021, according to the report issued Sunday. In 2021, equity ETFs reported the largest asset size, accounting for 67.44% of the domestic ETF market, followed by currency ETF, accounting for 20.97%. The scale of cross-border equity ETFs went up 212.33% year on year.

Tesla China exports slump on local demand

TESLA Inc. exported just 60 cars produced at its Shanghai factory in March, a record low as strong domestic demand sucked up most of the output.

The U.S.-based maker of electric vehicles shipped a total of 65,814 cars from its factory in Shanghai last month, with the bulk of those — 65,754 — going to the domestic market. The total number of electric vehicles produced last month was the highest for Tesla since December, despite a five-day plant shutdown caused by production snarls. Overall vehicle sales in China slid 10.9% in March to 1.61 million units, China Passenger Car Association data released Monday show.

Banks allow clients to delay mortgage payments

CHINA’S largest banks are allowing residents in Shanghai to delay their mortgage payments as part of the nation’s broader efforts to support the city in its COVID fight.

Banks, including Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and Bank of Communications, are offering Shanghai clients a payment holiday on their mortgage loans for as long as three months. China Construction Bank Corp. allowed clients to delay their payment on both mortgage and consumer loans for up to 28 days while Bank of China Ltd. said any records of overdue payment due to the pandemic will be removed.