Onshore Energy Conference — London Onshore Energy Conference — London | Page 43

THE P H REPORT CHINA PRODUCER PRICE INDEX 2008 – 15 END OF THE EXPORT SUPERCYCLE to the stimulus policies developed under previous Populists such as President Hu and Premier Wen. China’s lending has thus been on the rise for most of 2016, having reached 249% of GDP by May 2016 on the back of a reviving property market bubble. As the Wall Street Journal noted recently: IMPACT OF LENDING TSUNAMI 10 5 % OVER -CAPACITY AND DEFLATION LI’s STIMULUS 0 • More than one-third of all loans went to the sector in H1 2016 SEP MAY SEP 2016 MAY SEP 2015 MAY SEP 2014 MAY SEP 2013 MAY SEP 2012 MAY SEP 2011 MAY SEP 2010 MAY SEP 2009 2008 -10 MAY -5 • This was double the average percentage between 2010 – 2015 SOURCE: pH REPORT, NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS Stimulus has reignited Chart 4: Inflation data confirms new stimulus is underway China’s property bubble • Total home loans will be around 30% of GDP this year, versus 20% in 2014 Unsurprisingly, producer price inflation has also been on the rise, as chart 4 confirms, reaching a positive figure in September for the first time in 4 years. And whilst Xi has recently instructed the government Fundamental economic reform depends on the President to Chart 5: China’s auto sales have surged again this year due to stimulus make it happen PASSENGER CAR SALES IN THE BRICs JANUARY – SEPTEMBER, 2006 – 2016 18 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 16 14 12 Millions November 2017. This is when appointments to the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) – effectively the supreme governing body – will be finalised for the next 5 years. The situation is certainly calmer than in the run up to the 18th Congress in 2012. Then, the Bo Xilai affair was followed by the scandal of the death of the son of Populist President Hu’s chief of staff, Ling Jihua, in the infamous Ferrari crash. In October, the New York Times then alleged that Populist Premier Wen’s family had amassed a $2.7bn fortune after Wen’s 1998 move into China’s ruling elite. Unsurprisingly, the Ling and Wen affairs discredited the Populist faction within the Party. They not only ensured Xi Jinping’s appointment as President, but meant that he gained an unprecedented 6 – 1 majority for his Princeling faction in the PSC (The pH Report. ‘Two steps forward, one step back’, July 2015), with only Premier Li left to represent the Populists. Xi also set out to circumvent the premier’s traditional control of the economy by establishing a system of Leading Small Groups under his own chairmanship, with the aim of implementing major reforms in key areas. More recently, of course, (The pH Report, ‘Desert and Middle Kingdom aim for economic transformation’, May 2016), Populist fortunes have begun to revive, enabling Li to return • 10 cities saw annual house price gains of more than 20% in August 10 8 6 4 2 0 CHINA RUSSIA BRAZIL INDIA SOURCE: pH REPORT, NATIONAL AUTO MANUFACTURER ORGANISATION 43