China to strengthen financial regulation amid asset bubble risks: Official

BEIJING - China will further strengthen financial regulation as there are still risks of asset bubbles, a senior central bank official wrote in an article.

Yi Gang, vice governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said that the central bank will bring shadow banking, property financing, and web-based financial activities under its macro-prudential supervision framework.

The "two-pillar" policy framework that includes the macro-prudential and monetary policies, introduced by the PBOC last year, will be improved and should play a better role in preventing systematic risks and maintaining financial stability, Yi said.

To address overall financial risks, the central bank expanded its macro-prudential assessment (MPA) framework last year by including off-balance-sheet wealth management products. It will further improve its supervision by covering negotiable certificates of deposits (NCDs) from the first quarter of 2018.

Under the macro-prudential policy, the central bank will work to bolster green financing and conduct counter-cycle adjustments for capital flows, Yi said.

"China's economy is expected to post steady growth in 2018 thanks to the continuing structural reforms, simplification of administrative procedures, and implementation of an innovation strategy, but potential risks in the economy should also be monitored," Yi said.

Yi said he believes the structural readjustment will be an arduous task as the country's debt and leverage levels remain high.

He said regulators should still be alert to hidden risks. "Prudent monetary policy should be kept neutral, the floodgates of monetary supply should be controlled, and credit and social financing should see reasonable growth."

Yi called for more efforts to advance financial reforms, push forward the marketization of the yuan's exchange rate, and promote inclusive finance to channel more capital into key economic sectors and weak links.