Briefly

Natural gas storage capacity to increase

Fresh guidelines have been issued for beefing up infrastructure construction and storage capacity of natural gas to promote the stable and sound development of the sector. Efforts should be made to optimize construction layout and strengthen the development of standards in the sector, said the document posted on the website of the National Development and Reform Commission on Tuesday. It encourages existing liquefied natural gas receiving stations to expand storage tanks and support city clusters to jointly build and share storage facilities.

Rising bond issuances to bolster economy

China's major development and policy financial institutions have increased bond issuances to augment capital, while providing more loans to support the economy against shocks from the COVID-19 epidemic, latest data showed. In March, the China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China and the Agricultural Development Bank of China have issued up to 486.4 billion yuan ($69.06 billion) of bonds, the 21st Century Business Herald said on Tuesday, citing data from financial information provider Wind. Among them, special bonds have been issued targeting fields related to epidemic containment and economic development, the newspaper said.

Public float approvals on steady track

The nation will maintain a steady pace in greenlighting initial public offering applications so as to ensure stable market operations, the Shanghai Securities News reported. Issuance of IPOs will not be suspended due to various factors, nor will they be done in large batches or a centralized manner, the report said, quoting authoritative sources. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has been clearing new IPOs regularly since the novel coronavirus outbreak, leveraging the capital market's role in supporting epidemic prevention, work resumption and development of the real economy.

Xinhua