Banking

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan for $499 million to set up a regional emission-reduction and pollution-control facility as part of a support program to improve the air quality in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

The facility will showcase how advanced technologies, including hydrogen-based low-emission transport and geothermal-based district heating, can be adopted on a large scale by major emitting industries and enterprises, according to the ADB.

China's central bank has issued rules on overseas investment in the mainland interbank bond market via the mainland-Hong Kong bond connect program.

Qualified overseas investors can buy bonds in the interbank bond market either with Chinese yuan or foreign currencies, according to the rules released by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), which took effect on Wednesday.

The overall risk of China's government debt is under control and the momentum of steady economic growth is being maintained, according to the country's top auditor.

The National Audit Office said in a news release that mechanisms such as quota management, budget management, risk disposal and regular supervision are being improved, and the momentum of government debt growth has been effectively controlled.

The Chinese government has always attached great importance to the management of government debt, and has established a standardized borrowing and financing system for local governments, the news release said.

PBOC expert says sharp depreciation not on the cards

The yuan will not suffer a sharp depreciation in the coming one or two years and its internationalization remains an "irreversible trend", leading economist and former central bank advisor Li Daokui said on Tuesday.

Li said possible uncertainties caused in the United States by the Trump administration, in the worst case scenario, might cause large fluctuations in the US financial markets. These, he said, could push up the value of the dollar and cause a big-margin depreciation of the yuan against the greenback.