China unveils raft of measures to boost economy

China's central bank has unveiled a major package of measures aimed at reviving the country's flagging economy.

People's Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Pan Gongsheng announced plans to lower borrowing costs and allow banks to increase their lending.

The move comes after a series of disappointing data has increased expectations in recent months that the world's second largest economy will miss its own 5% growth target this year.

Stock markets in Asia jumped after Mr Pan's announcement.

Speaking at a rare news conference alongside officials from two other financial regulators, Mr Pan said the central bank would cut the amount of cash banks have to hold in reserve - known as reserve requirement ratios (RRR).

The RRR will initially be cut by half a percentage point, in a move expected to free up about 1 trillion yuan ($142bn; £106bn).

Mr Pan added that another cut may be made later in the year.

Further measures aimed to boost China's crisis-hit property market include cutting interest rates for existing mortgages and lowering minimum down payments on all types of homes to 15%.

The country's real estate industry has been struggling with a sharp downturn since 2021.

Several developers have collapsed, leaving large numbers of unsold homes and unfinished building projects.

The PBOC's new economic stimulus measures come just days after the US Federal Reserve lowered interest rates for the first time in more than four years with a bigger than usual cut.

In Asia afternoon trading hours, major stock indexes in Shanghai and Hong Kong were more than 3% higher.