China’s regional governments have stepped in with their own stimulus measures, supporting local growth and potentially lifting China-related exchange traded funds, as Beijing withholds aggressive measures.
Northern Hebie province will dish out 1.2 trillion yuan, or $193 billion, for railways, energy and housing projects, while Heilongjiang province will spend 300 billion yuan in infrastructure and mining, Bloomberg reports.
Premier Li Keqiang has been loath to enact broad stimulus measures, but smaller provinces, where growth has fallen short of the national government’s 7.5% target, are beginning to enact their on plans to strengthen the faltering economies. [China ETFs: Low Inflation Leaves Room for More Stimulus]
“The motivation is there — currently GDP is still the key performance indicator for local officials,” Shen Jianguang, chief Asia economist at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd., said in the Bloomberg article.
The iShares China Large-Cap ETF (NYSEArca: FXI), the largest China-related ETF, has increased 1.6% year-to-date, lagging behind most developed markets this yaer.
As regional governments take on a more active role, investors may look at China small-cap ETFs to capture the domestic growth and increased spending for infrastructure projects.