[SMM Steel Market Morning News] The Central Bank's Open Market Operations Resulted in a Net Withdrawal of 38.5 Billion Yuan

★Macro★ 01 ★★【PBOC Achieves Net Withdrawal of 38.5 Billion Yuan in Open Market Operations】 PBOC: Yesterday, 190.5 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repo operations were conducted at a winning rate of 1.50%, unchanged from the previous rate. As 229 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repos matured yesterday, a net withdrawal of 38.5 billion yuan was achieved on the day. This week, over 1.5 trillion yuan of reverse repos and MLF are set to mature in the open market. From Monday to Friday, the maturity schedule for reverse repos in China's open market is 229 billion, 33 billion, 558 billion, 125.8 billion, and 98.5 billion yuan, respectively, with an additional 500 billion yuan of MLF maturing on Tuesday. 02 ★★【Local Financial Regulators Accelerate the Exit of "Missing" and "Shell" Institutions】 Since the beginning of the year, a wave of non-bank institutions, including microfinance, financing guarantees, and financial leasing companies under the management of local financial regulators, have been quietly exiting the market. This is a necessary measure by local financial regulators to mitigate risks in local financial organizations and purify the development environment of the local financial industry. According to a rough review by reporters, the Hubei Provincial Financial Regulatory Bureau announced the cancellation of operating licenses for two institutions, including Hubei Changyuan Financing Guarantee Co., Ltd., and approved the exit of Tongcheng Dingsheng Microfinance Co., Ltd. and Jiang'an District Changfa Chengxin Microfinance Co., Ltd. The Hunan Provincial Financial Regulatory Bureau announced the exit of Hunan Zhongrunkai Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. and approved the cancellation of microfinance business qualifications for four companies, including Changde Tianhui Microfinance Co., Ltd. and Chaling Longhua Microfinance Co., Ltd. The Chongqing Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau announced the cancellation of the operating license for Chongqing Yinqiao Financing Guarantee Co., Ltd. The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Financial Regulatory Bureau issued an approval for the termination of Beihai Zhongtai Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. 03 ★★【Xi Jinping Attends Private Enterprise Symposium and Delivers Key Speech】 February 17—Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended a symposium on private enterprises in Beijing on the morning of the 17th. After listening to speeches from representatives of private enterprise leaders, Xi delivered an important speech. Li Qiang and Xuexiang Ding attended the symposium, while Huning Wang presided over the event. ★Industry and Downstream★ 01 ★★【Guangdong Plans to Renovate 1,289 Old Residential Communities in 2025】 In 2025, Guangdong has allocated 1.58 billion yuan in central fiscal funds for the renovation of old residential communities and pre-allocated 130 million yuan in provincial subsidies, totaling 1.71 billion yuan. The plan includes the renovation of 1,289 old residential communities, benefiting approximately 203,300 households. Among them, Guangzhou, Maoming, Meizhou, Zhongshan, and Jieyang rank in the top five in Guangdong Province for the number of planned renovations, with 156, 137, 136, 110, and 109 communities, respectively. 02 ★★★【January Automobile Exports Totaled 470,000 Units, Up 6.1% YoY】 February 17—According to the latest data from CAAM, in January, automobile exports totaled 470,000 units, down 6.8% MoM but up 6.1% YoY. Among them, NEV exports reached 150,000 units, up 49.6% YoY. 03 ★★【China's Passenger Vehicle Production Reached 2.151 Million Units in January】 On February 17, CAAM released data showing that China's auto industry had a stable start in January 2025. The latest data indicates that in January, passenger vehicle production and sales reached 2.151 million and 2.133 million units, respectively, up 3.3% and 0.8% YoY. NEV production and sales reached 1.015 million and 944,000 units, respectively, up 29% and 29.4% YoY. NEV sales accounted for 38.9% of total new vehicle sales. 04 ★★【Chengdu Launches 380 Major Projects in Q1】 At the recent 2025 Q1 major project on-site promotion event in Sichuan Province, Chengdu launched 380 major projects with a total planned investment of 208.64 billion yuan and an annual planned investment of 48.82 billion yuan. By investment scale, among the major projects participating in the event, there are 225 projects with investments exceeding 100 million yuan (total planned investment of 203.24 billion yuan), 61 projects exceeding 1 billion yuan (total planned investment of 142.4 billion yuan), 14 projects exceeding 3 billion yuan (total planned investment of 68.95 billion yuan), and 6 projects exceeding 5 billion yuan (total planned investment of 42.57 billion yuan). 05 ★★【Over 20 Cities Nationwide Have Introduced Housing Provident Fund Optimization Measures】 Since the beginning of the year, over 20 cities nationwide have introduced measures to optimize housing provident funds. Many cities have prioritized increasing loan limits, lowering down payment ratios, and supporting flexible employment as key policy improvements. A review by reporters found that the maximum loan limits in various regions have increased by tens of thousands of yuan, with higher limits for highly educated talents, multi-child families, and green buildings. Additionally, specific adjustments have been made to housing provident fund policies for targeted groups. Cities such as Tianjin, Yichang, and Lanzhou have explicitly included self-employed individuals and freelancers in the housing provident fund system, allowing them to enjoy multiple benefits such as "commercial-to-public loan conversion" and "multi-child family housing provident fund loan support policies." ★Other Hot Topics★ ⭕【Valin: Financing Costs Expected to Remain Low in 2025】 On February 17, Valin responded to investors on the interactive platform, stating that the company will accelerate its transformation toward "high-end, green, and intelligent" development, striving to build a world-class steel enterprise. First, it will promote high-end product structuring; second, it will accelerate green and low-carbon development; third, it will strengthen the construction of digital and intelligent infrastructure. In terms of financing, the company primarily meets funding needs through financial institution loans and bank acceptance bills. Currently, its main credit status is sound, and financing channels are smooth. In 2024, the company's 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year loan rates were approximately 2.1%, 2.4%, and 2.5%, respectively, achieving a discount below the LPR. Financing costs are expected to remain low in 2025. ⭕【CITIC Pacific Special Steel Achieves "Grand Slam" in Quality Certification for the Special Steel Industry】 Recently, Xingcheng Special Steel, a subsidiary of CITIC Pacific Special Steel, achieved another milestone by obtaining the ISO22163:2023 Railway Quality Management System Certificate. This follows the AS9100D Aerospace Quality Management System Certification, marking a significant breakthrough. Xingcheng Special Steel has become the first domestic special steel enterprise to achieve a "grand slam" in industrial quality system certifications. This milestone not only grants Xingcheng Special Steel a "passport" to the global railway and rail transit industry chain but also demonstrates its strength and forward-looking layout as an industry benchmark in quality management. ⭕【Sangang Group's Blast Furnace Project (Quanzhou Min Guang Section) Completion Ceremony】 On the morning of February 15, Anxi County in Fujian Province organized a centralized commencement (completion) ceremony for key projects in Q1 2025 as part of the county's "Project Efficiency Year." The Quanzhou Min Guang Blast Furnace Project in Hutou Town participated in the completion ceremony. The project is a core component of Sangang Group's capacity replacement and supporting upgrades, with a total investment of 1.588 billion yuan and a land area of 105,000 m². The project includes the demolition of existing facilities and the construction of two blast furnaces (1,200 m³ and 1,250 m³) and supporting auxiliary systems. It integrates internationally advanced technologies, adopting innovative processes such as high-efficiency, low-consumption, long-life blast furnaces and intelligent control. The localisation rate reaches 100%. In alignment with the "dual carbon" strategy, the project implements energy-saving technologies such as TRT power generation and hot blast stove waste heat recovery, as well as environmental protection measures like dry coal gas dust removal and zero rainwater and sewage discharge, achieving dual goals of energy consumption reduction and ultra-low emissions. As a green transformation benchmark for Fujian's steel industry, the project will significantly enhance ironmaking efficiency upon operation, injecting stronger industrial momentum into Hutou Town's development as the "Northern Sub-center of Anxi" and supporting the high-quality development of the county's steel and building materials industry chain.

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[SMM Steel Market Morning News] The Central Bank's Open Market Operations Resulted in a Net Withdrawal of 38.5 Billion Yuan

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