Briefly

Hebei's foreign trade up in first 10 months

North China's Hebei province saw its foreign trade grow 2.3 percent year-on-year to 451.52 billion yuan ($63.05 billion) in the first 10 months, local Customs said. Exports totaled 275.18 billion yuan, up 13.2 percent year-on-year, while imports stood at 176.34 billion yuan, down 11 percent, data from Shijiazhuang Customs showed. From January to October, Hebei's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations increased 32.2 percent to about 59 billion yuan. Its trade with countries along the Belt and Road increased 22.8 percent to 152.81 billion yuan. During the period, nearly 40 percent of Hebei's total exports were contributed by its mechanical and electrical products. Its exports of auto parts, automobiles and electronic components grew rapidly.

PBOC conducts fresh central bank bills swap

People's Bank of China conducted a central bank bills swap operation on Wednesday to improve the liquidity of perpetual bonds. The swap, valued at 5 billion yuan ($696.7 million), is open to primary dealers for bidding at a fixed rate of 0.1 percent, the PBOC said in a statement. The swap will be due on Feb 28, 2023, according to the statement. The facility allows dealers to swap perpetual bonds they hold for central bank bills, which will boost market demand for perpetual bonds but have a neutral impact on liquidity in the banking system. Perpetual bonds are fixed-income securities with no maturity date and are not redeemable but pay a steady stream of interest in perpetuity.

China Daily - Xinhua