CHINA’S Citic Securities has been given the nod to obtain 10 billion yuan (S$1.8 billion) in liquid assets from a new swap facility set up to aid the stock market, becoming the first firm do so, financial media outlet 21jingji.com said on Friday.
Other major securities firms including China International Capital Corp (CICC) have also applied to join the scheme, the report said.
Citic Securities did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. CICC declined to comment.
Under the swap facility, financial institutions can pledge bonds, stock ETFs and holdings in constituents of the CSI 300 Index when obtaining highly liquid assets such as treasury bonds and central bank bills.
China’s central bank first announced the scheme on Sep 24 as part of a broad package of policies to stimulate the economy and boost capital markets. The initial scale of the swap programme has been set at 500 billion yuan but it can be expanded in the future.
China stocks have rallied more than 20 per cent since Sep 24, fanned by expectations of large-scale stimulus although momentum has slowed this week. REUTERS
