Chinese central bank to inject 1.2 trillion yuan worth of liquidity into market
The People’s Bank of China will inject 1.2 trillion yuan (around 228 billion Cdn) worth of liquidity into the markets via reverse repo operations on Monday, as the country combats the novel coronavirus.
The measure aims at maintaining the liquidity of the banking system and the stability of the monetary market during the period of virus control, according to a statement published on the bank’s website on Sunday.
It also said the total liquidity in the banking system is 900 billion yuan (171 billion Cdn) higher than the same period in 2019.
The bank has also announced a range of measures to step up monetary and credit support to enterprises which are helping in the fight against the virus, such as medical companies.
A reverse repo is a process in which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.
China’s death toll from the virus increased to 304 on Sunday amid warnings from the World Health Organization that other countries need to be prepared in the event the disease spreads among their populations.
Government figures released Saturday showed an increase of 45 in the death toll and 2,590 in the number of cases for a total of 14,380, well above the number of those infected in in the 2002-03 outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which broke out in southern China before spreading worldwide.
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