MNI China Press Digest Apr 24: Fiscal, Consumption, Housing

MNI (BEIJING) - Highlights from Chinese press reports on Thursday:

• China should accelerate the issuance of local government bonds to maintain the scale of infrastructure investment expansion and accelerate export tax refunds to enhance the resilience of exporters in response to external challenges, said Zhang Yiqun, director of the Jilin Provincial Institute of Fiscal Science. Authorities must also accelerate the pace of fiscal spending and increase the scale of central government’s transfer payments to local governments, said Zhang.
• Local governments will introduce a new round of consumption stimulus this week with a focus on boosting tourism ahead of the May Day holiday and quickening the replacement of big-ticket items, Securities Daily reported. Jilin province planned to distribute CNY600 million in consumer vouchers, and allocate another CNY200 million to support the consumer goods trade-in policy further, the newspaper said. Authorities plan to increase consumption by offering instant subsidies and discounts as well as door-to-door services, the newspaper added.
• Xiamen city further upgraded the use of housing vouchers to compensate residents displaced under urban-renewal efforts, Shanghai Securities News reported. The government broadened the range of houses available for relocated residents to choose from by including second-hand housing as well as non-residential properties such as stores, offices, parking spaces, and factory buildings, the newspaper said. There will be a 5% incentive for those who purchase new homes within six months from the date of housing voucher issuance, the newspaper added.