Numbers of the Week

65.7 trillion yuan

In the first 11 months, a total of 65.7 trillion yuan ($9.55 trillion) worth of futures was traded on the mainland futures market, an increase of 84 percent year on year.

17 million pounds

Kingfisher Plc, Europe's largest home improvement retailer that owns B&Q, lost 17 million pounds ($26 million) in China in the third quarter because of diving sales and overexpansion.

TO THE POINT: The government introduced a package of financial measures to stimulate bank loans in the wake of the slowing economy. State investment organs agreed to save the battered mainland stock markets by buying more shares in open market transactions. China's sovereign wealth fund said it would not make any risky overseas investments and would wait for the global financial environment to recover. The government canceled its 10-month food price controls, so that producers no longer must notify authorities before raising prices. The yuan fell sharply and unexpectedly against the U.S. dollar in early December, but analysts projected it would rebound soon. China Development Bank was officially incorporated as a commercial lender.

By LIU YUNYUN

Financial Stimulus Measures

Confronted with daunting external financial challenges, the State Council issued nine financial stimulus measures on December 3 to guide the country's financial development.

According to Premier Wen Jiabao who chaired the meeting, financial institutions are encouraged to issue loans to infrastructure projects, small businesses, and property and auto buyers.

The nine measures can be summarized as follows:

--Reinforcing an appropriately accommodative monetary policy using exchange and interest rates as well as the reserve requirement ratio to ensure abundant liquidity. Policy banks may loan an extra credit quota of 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) to infrastructure construction projects.

--Encouraging banks to issue loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and set up an SME credit guarantee system.

-Increasing the issuance of treasury bonds, expanding the futures market and stabilizing the mainland stock markets.

--Allowing insurers to invest in major infrastructure projects.

--Creating innovative financing methods to broaden companies' financing channels.

--Supporting exports and encouraging companies to make full use of foreign exchanges.

--Improving the quality of financial services.

--Improving financial institutions' capability of reinvigorating non-performing loans.

-Optimizing a financial supervision system and strengthening risk control in financial institutions.

Restoring the Stock Markets

The government will buy more shares of listed companies in China to boost investors' confidence in the country's crumbling stock markets.

On December 1, the Securities Times reported that 10 finance professors jointly signed a letter to government policymakers, urging them to join a global commitment to saving the stock markets by injecting money into them.