China's finance minister says there is 'large room' for fiscal stimulus

Lan Fo'an declines to give hard numbers, says policies in 'decision-making process'

Morning rush hour in Beijing's Central Business District. The Chinese Ministry of Finance briefed the media on Oct. 12 after the stock market ended a turbulent week on a cautious note. © Reuters

WATARU SUZUKI and STELLA YIFAN XIE, Nikkei staff writers

October 12, 2024 13:25 JST

Updated on October 12, 2024 13:31 JST

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG -- China's Ministry of Finance on Saturday outlined plans to step up fiscal support to local governments, state-owned banks and consumers, but stopped short of announcing the size of a stimulus package hotly anticipated by investors.

In a news conference, Finance Minister Lan Fo'an introduced four policies: increasing support for local governments to ease their debt burden; issuing special treasury bonds to increase the capital of state-owned banks; using local government funding to stop the downturn in the real estate market; and providing assistance to students to encourage spending.