China to strengthen credit controls

Over the past few years China has definitely been going through a pretty impressive growth period. Some analysts have voiced their concerns over the the country's growth rate, suggesting that at such a rate China will have to try to put the brakes on a little bit to avoid entering into a "bubble economy. " Well, the country now seems to be reacting to these concerns, and according to a deputy central bank governor, China will tighten monetary controls in 2008 to put a curb on rapid credit growth.

After a big jump of consumer prices in October, the communist government plans to "strengthen macro controls, limit the total volume of money and credit and adjust the credit structure" to avoid financial problems and a possible inflation surge. Liu Shiyu, a deputy central bank governor, said at a conference on China's 2008 economic outlook that the government's decision came on concerns about a debt crisis related to higher spending on factories, real estate and other assets.

The news about shifting monetary policy "from prudent to tight" in 2008 increased investors' worries and brought declines in the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets. The Taiwan Weighted Index was down 3.54%, while the China Shanghai Composite was down 2.53%.