Chongqing announces plans for RMB1.5 trillion stimulus

The city of Chongqing plans to invest RMB1.5 trillion (US$236.6 billion) in seven key industries, the latest in a growing list of Chinese cities to announce a local stimulus to combat the economic slowdown, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing state media. Chongqing’s investment plan includes RMB200 billion for the auto industry, RMB250 billion for high-tech manufacturing and RMB300 billion for telecoms, among other items. On Tuesday the city of Tianjin said it had “preliminarily” decided to proceed on a plan for RMB1.5 trillion in spending over four years in 10 sectors, and last month the city of Changsha announced plans for RMB829.2 billion in new investment. Analysts are unsure how local governments plan to fund the schemes, how much investment is truly new and whether the plans will actually be implemented.