CBN丨China grows forex, gold reserves in April

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

大家好，我是主持人李莹亮。

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重点提要

China continued to stock up on gold in April for the sixth straight month, while forex reserves hit 14-months high;

Chinese NEV leaders expand manufacturing in Thailand amid sales boom

中国经济要闻

China increased its gold reserves for the sixth consecutive month in April to 66.76 million ounces (1,893 tons) for the first time since 2019, amid a global financial panic triggered by aggressive US interest rate hikes on top of its ongoing banking crisis.

Experts said that gold is still a safe haven for international capital wanting to hedge against uncertainties amid concerns over a global recession, high inflation and other risks.

China's gold reserves grew 260,000 ounces in April from 66.5 million ounces a month earlier, data from the People's Bank of China showed on Sunday, with 4.12 million ounces of gold being purchased since November 2022.

Central banks across the world continued to buy gold in the first quarter, adding 228.4 tons to global reserves, up 176 percent year-on-year, data from the World Gold Council (WGC) showed on Friday.

The WGC noted that China has seen a strong relief rally in the first post-COVID quarter of unfettered consumer spending, adding that the economic recovery and healthy income growth reignited domestic consumption and the eye-catching gold prices spurred investment interest.

The momentum from central banks showed that global investors have further lost trust in holding US dollar assets as they fear more risks will emerge in the US banking sector, leading to a sell-off of these assets and a rush to purchase gold, experts noted.

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Meanwhile, China's foreign exchange reserves hit a 14-month high, reaching $3.2048 trillion by the end of April, some $20.9 billion more than in March, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) showed Sunday.

Affected by monetary policy and expectations for major economies, the US Dollar Index fell and the prices of global financial assets climbed, according to the SAFE, attributing the increase in forex reserves to the combined impact of currency translation and asset price changes.

The SAFE added that the nation's efforts to promote high-quality development and the rebound in domestic economic development both favor general stability in China's forex reserves.

5月7日，国家外汇管理局发布统计数据显示，截至2023年4月末，我国外汇储备规模为32048亿美元，较3月末上升209亿美元，升幅为0.66%，为连续两个月环比上升。

汇率折算、资产价格变化以及外汇储备的投资收益是外汇储备规模上升的三大主要原因。外汇局表示，2023年4月，受全球宏观经济数据、主要经济体货币政策预期等因素影响，美元指数下跌，全球金融资产价格总体上涨。在汇率折算和资产价格变化等因素综合作用下，当月外汇储备规模上升。我国着力推动高质量发展，经济发展呈现回升向好态势，有利于外汇储备规模继续保持基本稳定。

4月，受全球宏观经济数据、主要经济体货币政策预期等因素影响，美元指数下跌，全球金融资产价格总体上涨。货币方面，美元指数下跌0.8%至101.7，非美元货币总体升值。资产方面，以美元标价的已对冲全球债券指数上涨0.5%；标普500股票指数1.5%。汇率折算和资产价格变化等因素综合作用，外汇储备规模上升。在当前主要发达经济体货币政策面临转向，经济衰退预期强劲，金融市场剧烈波动的大背景下，我国稳定且大规模的外汇储备将继续发挥抵御各类外部冲击的“压舱石”作用。

同日，中国人民银行公布数据显示，中国4月末黄金储备报6676万盎司（2076.47吨），环比上升26万盎司（8.09吨），为连续第六个月增持黄金，累计增持规模达412万盎司（128.15吨）。

全球央行购金潮风靡已久。5月5日，世界黄金协会最新发布的《全球黄金需求趋势报告》提及，2023年一季度多国央行的购金需求大幅增长，全球官方公布的黄金储备增加了228吨，创下了一季度的历史新高。而在2022年，全球央行已经以1,136吨的净购金量创下历史最高纪录。

分析表示，各国央行积极增持黄金主要是出于规避信用货币风险、储备资产多元化的考虑。近年来，主要经济体普遍增持黄金储备，我国黄金储备占储备资产比重低于全球主要经济体的平均水平，未来在国际储备资产配置的多元化和分散化方面仍有提升空间。

数据显示，经过连续六个月的增持后，中国央行黄金储备占中国储备资产的比重已经升至3.9%，但仍低于多个新兴市场国家与西方国家。业内专家认为，目前黄金储备在中国储备资产中的占比仍然很低，黄金储备总量与中国经济体量和外汇储备总量仍不匹配，再考虑到金融安全、储备资产多元化等方面的需求，未来还有继续增持黄金的空间。

Moving on to regional highlights

区域观察

Construction has started on the first phase of what will be the largest central grain reserve base in South China's Guangxi province, aiming to help ensure the nation's grain security by adding storage capacity. With an investment of 1.12 billion yuan, the project is located in the Qinzhou Port area, which is part of a major grain base project being built by China Grain Reserves Group (Sinograin), which will have a total warehouse capacity of 560,000 tons after completion. 广西规模最大中央储备粮库项目浅圆仓首次滑模成功：近日，在历经6天混凝土浇筑后，中储粮钦州仓储有限公司仓储项目一期1501号、1502号浅圆仓滑模施工顺利完成滑升到顶，标志着该项目基础地面工程施工正式拉开序幕，为年底工程竣工验收打下坚实基础。该项目位于钦州港片区，是中储粮集团公司打造重要粮食基地建设项目之一，总投资11.2亿元，建设总仓容56万吨，包括浅圆仓65座，平房仓4栋，以及配套建设其他附属设施。

产业及公司新闻

China's courier sector registered expansion in April, a monthly industry index showed Sunday. The monthly express delivery development index came in at 356.4 in April, up 47.7 percent year on year, according to the State Post Bureau. Meanwhile, warehouse storage activities further consolidated the trend of expansion in April, according to a survey jointly released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and CMST Development Co., Ltd. The index tracking the sector's development stood at 53.7 percent last month, up 3.5 percentage points from March. 4月中国快递、仓储指数稳步复苏：5月8日消息，国家邮政局测算的数据显示，今年4月中国快递发展指数为356.4，同比提升47.7%，行业继续保持良好运行态势，规模实力稳步提升，服务质量改善明显，发展态势持续向好。另外，中国物流与采购联合会和中储发展股份有限公司联合调查的中国仓储指数显示，2023年4月份为53.7%，较上月上升3.5个百分点，连续三个月位于荣枯线之上，表明仓储行业保持较好复苏节奏。

China's marine economy has posted a strong recovery momentum in the first quarter amid pro-growth policy support, the Ministry of Natural Resources said Monday. The country's gross marine product grew 5.1 percent year on year to 2.3 trillion yuan in the first three months, accounting for 8.2 percent of GDP, data from the ministry showed. The output of offshore crude oil and natural gas increased by 3.8 percent and 6.5 percent from a year ago respectively, while marine passenger volume jumped 87.8 percent year on year. 一季度海洋经济复苏态势强劲：5月8日自然资源部消息称一季度我国海洋经济复苏态势强劲。数据显示，一季度，中国海洋生产总值为2.3万亿元，同比增长5.1%，高于国民经济增速0.6个百分点，占国内生产总值比重为8.2%。一季度，国内海洋水产品产量同比增长4.4%，其中海水养殖产量同比增长4.9%。全国海洋原油、海洋天然气产量同比分别增长3.8%、6.5%。海洋客运量恢复性增长明显，同比增长87.8%。

China's Daqing Oilfied Co recently completed first online trade for 1,000 tons of liquefied CO2 by bidding in the domestic market with premium of 210 yuan ($30.37) per ton added to the original price. The trade was processed via the Dalian Petroleum Exchange, which has digitized the traditional offline trading method for petrochemicals and created a new trading method for Chinese liquefied CO2 market. 中国实现首单液体二氧化碳线上现货交易：5月8日，中国石油天然气集团有限公司表示，近日其下属大庆油田1000吨液体二氧化碳，在大连石油交易所经过三轮竞价，最终以每吨溢价210元的价格售出。这标志国内实现首单液体二氧化碳线上现货竞价交易。

Chinese new-energy vehicle producers including BYD and Hozon have expanded their manufacturing bases in Thailand in recent months, the latest efforts to expand their global foothold and deepen green transformation. Hozon has signed an agreement with a Thai auto assembly firm to produce its NETA V model starting in 2024, Thai government spokeswoman said on Saturday. BYD and SAIC Motor also announced recently plans to build their first overseas passenger car production bases in Thailand. Local media reported that six of the top 10 EV models in the first quarter of this year were from Chinese brands, which accounted for nearly 78 percent of the Thai EV market. 国产新能源车走红泰国：近日，上汽正大新能源产业园区奠基开工仪式在泰国举行。占地12万平方米的产业园区，将聚焦新能源汽车关键零部件的本地化生产，一期工程年内竣工，整体项目将于2025年建成。上汽集团2012年以来就与泰国知名企业正大集团合资办厂。仅今年刚刚过去的3月-4月两个月里，就有上汽、比亚迪、哪吒、长安四家车企宣布，已经或将要在泰国建厂。据泰国Auto Life官网数据，BYD ATTO 3在2023年3月上牌量达2434台，连续第三次斩获泰国纯电动汽车销冠，哪吒汽车的NETA V以及名爵的MG 4 Electric上牌量亦跻身前五，长城汽车的ORA Good Cat上牌量也位列前十。

Chinese artificial intelligence pioneer iFlytek unveiled its generative language model SparkDesk on Saturday. Liu Qingfeng, chairman of iFlytek, introduced its AI large language model through a live demonstration, saying that SparkDesk aims to exceed ChatGPT's capabilities in Chinese language by October 24, and will achieve a similar level to it in English. Powered by AI techs, Liu said iFlytek's net profit will grow more than 30 percent annually beginning 2023. 科大讯飞发布星火认知大模型：科大讯飞在5月6日的成果发布会上正式发布了“讯飞星火认知大模型”，并对其多项能力进行了现场演示，包括文本生成、语言理解、知识问答、逻辑推理、数学能力，编程能力、多模态等。科大讯飞董事长刘庆峰表示，当前讯飞星火认知大模型已经在文本生成、知识问答、数学能力三大能力上已超ChatGPT。他进一步公布大模型年内三次升级时间点，10月24日，将直接对标ChatGPT，中文能力超越ChatGPT，英文能力与之相当。

股市收盘情况

Chinese stocks soared on Monday, as banks and energy shares climbed on a rebound in the country’s services consumption. The benchmark Shanghai Composite rallied 1.8 percent to a new high of the year, while the Shenzhen Component rose 0.4 percent. Hong Kong stocks also end sharply higher, with the Hang Seng index jumping 1.2 percent and the TECH index up 0.5 percent. A股港股集体走高：A股三大指数集体走高。上证指数创年内新高，盘中一度站上3400点。截至收盘，上证指数涨1.81%，报收3395.00点；深证成指涨0.40%，报收11225.77点；创业板指涨0.25%，报收2273.40点。全天成交额达11369亿，较上个交易日放量657亿元。北向资金全天净买入20.49亿元。港股午后震荡走高，截至收盘，恒指涨1.24%，恒生科技指数涨0.48%。

Biz Word of the Day

财经词汇划重点

Liquid carbon dioxide is the liquid state of carbon dioxide (CO2), which cannot occur under atmospheric pressure. Low-temperature carbon dioxide is commercially used in its solid form, commonly known as "dry ice". Liquefied CO2 is a precious resource that can be used for both heavy industry and consumer goods. 液态二氧化碳指的是高压低温下将二氧化碳气体液化为液体形态。液态二氧化碳应用范围极广，包括食品保鲜、人工降雨、灭火剂、医药、石油开采等。它还是一种工业原料，可用于制纯碱、尿素和汽水等。

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