China Hoards Record Cash, Leaving Space for Stimulus

China’s top leaders have pledged to “properly advance infrastructure investment” as part of efforts to bolster an economy. Photo: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — China’s government stockpiled a record amount of cash in the first two months of the year instead of spending it, despite numerous pledges by top officials to speed up fiscal stimulus to boost the economy.

Government deposits, which are listed under liabilities on the central bank’s balance sheet, rose by a combined 1.17 trillion yuan ($184 billion) in January-February, according to Bloomberg calculations of official figures. That was the biggest increase for the two-month period since comparable data going back to 2000.