Feelin' all right: World Bank raises China GDP estimate

This Friday we can sail off into the weekend with a breeze of good news at our backs. Apparently, things in China aren’t so bad after all. The World Bank bumped up its estimate for 2009 GDP growth to 7.2% from a previous 6.5%, mostly due to a larger-than-expected bounce from the stimulus package and bank lending. The bank did caution, however, that slowing exports would make it difficult for China to return to the high single-digit growth rates of yesteryear. It’s not just the World Bank that is feeling chipper. Policymakers are reportedly growing more confident with the health of China’s markets and as a result may allow corporate bonds to be issued on mainland exchanges, following an unofficial moratorium in place since September. Pair this up with recent news that IPOs are set to resume again and the picture gets just one hue rosier. Finally, China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp (CIC), may drop US$500 million into the hedge-fund unit of private equity firm Blackstone Group. Lou Jiwei, CIC’s head, is looking for bargains and Blackstone is apparently just one of several hedge fund deals being examined.