(China) The People’s Bank of China has said its current growth of money supply and loans is “a bit too fast” and warned that it will attempt to rein in this growth.Through China’s official newsagency, Xinhua, the Bank said its money supply grew at its quickest year-on-year rate since 1997, rising by US$2.4 trillion, up 20 percent from the previous year.
The Bank claimed the SARS virus had not seriously impacted China’s financial sector and that it was not expecting any disruption to its financial operations.
China’s M2 money supply, which includes cash in circulation, personal savings and institutional demand deposits, increased by 16.8 percent last year. The country is targeting an M2 growth rate of 16 percent in a bid to halt to deflation.
In further China news, China Merchants Bank has said it will pay US$45.2 million for land in Shanghai’s central business district.
The bank plans to build a new card centre as part of its bid to develop its retail business.
The China Merchants Bank recorded a 65 percent increase in Q1 net profits for 2003.