Today's Financial News Highlights
9 new pilot cities added for the expansion of service industry opening-up; Pilot support for foreign doctors to open clinics
The Loan Prime Rate (LPR) remained unchanged in April; The Department of Finance of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region allocated 17.5 million yuan for drought relief funds; The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers issued an initiative to standardize the publicity of driving assistance
The price of gold jewelry increased by 122 yuan in half a month; The President of Bolivia said there is no limit on the export volume of chia seeds to China; More and more wealthy Americans are opening bank accounts in Switzerland
The US dollar index fell below the 99 mark; Tesla's sales in Europe plunged across the board in the first quarter
1. 9 new pilot cities added for the expansion of service industry opening-up
Recently, the State Council approved the "Work Plan for Accelerating the Comprehensive Pilot Program for the Expansion of Service Industry Opening-up". This pilot task will be fully rolled out in eligible areas without distinguishing between regions and batches of tasks. In addition to the existing 11 pilot provinces and cities, 9 new cities including Dalian, Ningbo, Xiamen, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Hefei, Fuzhou, Xi'an, and Suzhou have been included in the pilot scope.
2. Pilot support for foreign doctors to open clinics
The "Work Plan for Accelerating the Comprehensive Pilot Program for the Expansion of Service Industry Opening-up" proposes that in the medical field, it supports foreign doctors to open clinics; allows overseas medical professionals to practice short - term; supports the establishment of foreign - funded nursing colleges; permits the establishment of non - profit medical institutions and elderly care institutions through donations; supports the construction of a patent database for gene and cell therapy; and explores the optimization of the sampling inspection model for the import of rare disease drugs.
3. The LPR remained unchanged in April
The People's Bank of China authorized the National Interbank Funding Center to announce that on April 21, 2025, the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) was: the 1 - year LPR was 3.1%, and the LPR over 5 years was 3.6%. The above LPR will remain valid until the next LPR release.
4. The Department of Finance of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region allocated 17.5 million yuan for drought relief funds
According to the Emergency Management Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as of 9:00 on April 21, the Department of Finance of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region had allocated 17.5 million yuan for drought relief funds to support 36 counties (districts) in 8 cities including Liuzhou, Hechi, and Baise to do a good job in the prevention of local drought disasters.
5. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers issued an initiative to standardize the publicity of driving assistance
On the 21st, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers issued the "Initiative on Standardizing the Publicity and Application of Driving Assistance". In recent years, China's intelligent and connected vehicle industry has developed rapidly, and the combined driving assistance (Level 2 driving automation) system has entered a critical period of large - scale application. In order to further guide enterprises to strengthen their self - discipline awareness, fulfill their quality commitments and safety responsibilities, build a sound development ecosystem, and promote the safe popularization and application of combined driving assistance function products, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, together with the Society of Automotive Engineers of China, issued an initiative.
6. The price of gold jewelry increased by 122 yuan in half a month
On the 21st, the marked price of pure gold jewelry of Chow Sang Sang reached 1,034 yuan per gram. Compared with the low of 912 yuan per gram on April 7, it increased by 122 yuan in 14 days. The marked prices of pure gold jewelry of Lao Miao and Chow Tai Fook climbed to 1,038 yuan per gram and 1,039 yuan per gram respectively, and the price per gram was approaching 1,040 yuan.
7. The President of Bolivia said there is no limit on the export volume of chia seeds to China
According to a recent report, the President of Bolivia said on the 17th that the export of 25 tons of chia seeds from Santa Cruz Province to China is a milestone event, which is the result of the joint efforts of the public and private sectors. Regarding chia seeds, he believes that there is "no limit" on the export volume to China and emphasizes that opening up the Chinese market can divert products currently sold to the United States because the United States has imposed an additional 10% tariff on top of the existing tariffs.
8. More and more wealthy Americans are opening bank accounts in Switzerland
According to multiple foreign media reports, Swiss banks recently said that in recent months, more and more wealthy Americans are opening bank accounts in Switzerland as part of the "de - Americanization" of their investment portfolios.
9. The US dollar index fell below the 99 mark
On the 20th local time, the US dollar index fell below the 99 mark for the first time since April 2022.
10. Tesla's sales in Europe plunged across the board in the first quarter
According to the latest data released by Statista, Tesla's sales in Europe plunged across the board in the first quarter. Among them, the sales in Germany, Denmark, and Sweden decreased by more than 50%, and the sales in the Netherlands were also close to being halved.
