BEIJING, Feb 27 (Reuters) – China’s local governmentsissued a net 491.2 billion yuan ($70.57 billion) in specialbonds in January, significantly up from the December amount, aspolicymakers look to boost funding for infrastructure projectsto revive a COVID-hit economy.
In January, the net local government debt issuance reached625.8 billion yuan, the finance ministry said on Monday.
An annual parliamentary meeting kicking off on March 5 isexpected to announce the economic targets, local governmentspecial bonds issuance quota and major economic policies for2023.
In December, local governments special bond issuancetotalled 9.8 billion yuan and hit 4.04 trillion yuan in 2022,according to data by the ministry.
Recent data suggest China’s economy is starting to recoverafter authorities removed some of the world’s toughestanti-COVID measures in December. The property market, which hasbattled a prolonged liquidity crisis, has also shown tentativesigns of improvement.
As external demand weakens and the housing sector is likelyto require some extended time for recovery, Chinese policymakersare ramping up infrastructure spending, dusting off an oldplaybook by issuing debt to pay for big public works projects torevive the economy.
($1 = 6.9606 Chinese yuan)(Reporting by Ellen Zhang and Kevin Yao; Editing by ShriNavaratnam)
