HSBC expects mainland China's economic growth to slow to 4.6% this year, with the RMB continuing to appreciate

The National Bureau of Statistics announced that the mainland's economy grew by 5% year-on-year last year, reaching the central government's target.

Local media reported that HSBC expects the mainland's economic growth to slow to 4.6% this year. Fan Liming, Chief Economist for Asia and Co-Head of Asia Pacific Research, stated that the slowdown in Asian economic growth this year is partly due to the ongoing transition of growth momentum from exports to domestic demand, as evidenced by the mainland's reported economic growth rate slowing to 4.5% last quarter, indicating certain challenges for the economy.

Zhou Shufen, Head of Asian Foreign Exchange Analysis, noted that the Chinese yuan has strengthened in recent weeks and expects this trend to continue. She pointed out that the internationalization of the yuan is one of the factors supporting its appreciation. The bank anticipates that in the first and second quarters of this year, the exchange rate of the yuan against the US dollar will be 6.95 and 6.9 to 1 US dollar, respectively, and in the second half of the year, it will be 6.88 to 1 US dollar