NDRC brings forward investment plans

China will bring forward part of the investment plans originally set for 2025 to this year while studying to expand the scope that local government special bonds can be used, as part of the country's stepped-up efforts to spur investment and achieve steady economic growth, officials said on Tuesday.

Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the top economic regulator plans to allocate the investment plans for next year's central government budget of 100 billion yuan ($14.2 billion) and another 100 billion yuan for key investment projects by the end of this year in advance.

Zheng said at a news conference on Tuesday that the NDRC is looking more closely at how to enlarge the support provided by local government special bonds. This includes broadening the area, scale and proportion of special bond funds used as project capital, with specific reform measures to be launched as soon as possible.

Special bonds will be used to vitalize idle land to stabilize the property market, Zheng said, adding that the country will continue to issue ultra-long special sovereign bonds next year and support local governments in carrying out debt swaps to defuse debt risks.

"In response to the downward pressure on the economy, we will strengthen the counter-cyclical adjustments of macro policies and continue to exert greater force in all areas," Zheng said.

The latest policy announcement to spur investment comes after China released a set of measures to ease monetary policy and shore up the housing market amid renewed economic downward pressures, with the growth of industrial output, retail sales and fixed-asset investment slowed in August.

Liu Sushe, deputy head of the NDRC, said the commission plans to issue investment plans and projects for the 200 billion yuan at the end of this month, which can translate into physical work volume within this year.

Meanwhile, Liu said the measures mulled to improve the management of local government special bonds are expected to give local governments more autonomy in the review process and help special bonds play a bigger role in investment.

Special bonds are invested in specific projects that can generate a stable income to pay off the debt.

In the first three quarters, local governments issued 2.83 trillion yuan of this year's special bond quota used for project construction worth 3.12 trillion yuan, official data showed.

Liu said the commission will urge local governments to issue the remaining 290 billion yuan in special bonds allocated for this year by the end of October and ensure that the construction of related projects begins as soon as possible.

Wei Qijia, director of the industrial economy research office at the State Information Center's Department of Economic Forecasting, which is part of the NDRC, told China Daily that the policy focus in terms of special bonds lies in making full use of bond proceeds to maximize their effect in boosting the economy.

"Meanwhile, bringing forward the 200 billion yuan in investment has reflected policymakers' emphasis on making decisive actions and lifting policy efficiency," Wei said, adding that another policy focus to watch will be the measures to facilitate local government debt swaps, a task critical for maintaining high-quality development and securing financial stability.

Yin Mingyue contributed to this story.