There is "no evidence" Chinese authorities have been intervening to move the exchange rate of the yuan, a senior International Monetary Fund official said Tuesday.

The comments by IMF chief economist Maury Obstfeld came after US President Donald Trump accused China and the European Union of keeping their currencies artificially weak to make their exports more competitive.

Even though there have been some currency movements recently, "there is no evidence of manipulation," Obstfeld said.

The IMF official noted in an interview on CNBC that a recent US Treasury report that looks at currency manipulation "came to the same conclusion."

"They haven't been intervening in their foreign exchange market as far as we can see," he said.

Other factors in the Chinese economy are putting pressure on the currency, he said, including lower growth, lower interest rates "and threats of tariffs against China."

In its twice-yearly report to Congress in April that looks for official currency manipulation, the US Treasury said "the Chinese currency generally moved against the dollar in a direction that should" help reduce China's trade surplus with the United States.

However, China was included on the Treasury's currency watch list because "it constitutes a disproportionate share of the overall US trade deficit," the report said.

Germany also remained on the watch list because it "has the world's largest current account surplus" and has made "little to no progress in reducing this massive surplus the past three years."

Obstfeld earlier released an IMF report saying the excess trade surpluses and deficits in key economies like Germany and China could exacerbate growing trade tensions.

And he told reporters there is "more they could be doing" to lower their surpluses.

But he again urged countries to avoid protectionist measures, and not to focus on bilateral deficits -- something that has been at the center of Trump's criticism of US trading partners.

China Tower seeks $8.7 billion IPO
Hong Kong (AFP) July 24, 2018 - China's state-owned China Tower -- the world's largest operator of telecommunications towers -- announced Tuesday it will aim for an $8.7 billion initial public offering in Hong Kong, the biggest globally in four years.

China Tower is offering 43.1 billion shares globally at a range of HK$1.26 to HK$1.58 (US$0.16 to US$0.20) each with pricing expected on August 1 and will debut on the Hong Kong exchange on August 8.

It would be the largest IPO since Alibaba's $25 billion New York debut in 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.

Hillhouse Capital, affiliates of China National Petroleum Corp and Taobao -- a subsidiary of Alibaba -- are reported to be among the 10 cornerstone investors.

The company said Tuesday at its IPO launch event in Hong Kong that "international companies and giant domestic companies" were among the cornerstone investors.

"The potential to cooperate with Alibaba is great. We have a certain level of communication as well as understanding," added Tong Jilu, chairman and executive director of China Tower, speaking at the event at Hong Kong's Conrad Hotel.

China Tower was formed by merging the telecoms tower operations of state-owned China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom in 2014 in a massive joint venture to streamline the industry.

Observers said investors may see the company as a safe bet on China's mobile market because of its government backing.

But some argued the fact it was a state-backed monopoly could limit growth due to lack of competition.

Caution over China stocks due to trade disputes with the United States could also temper interest.

Hong Kong is seeking to become a destination for major IPOs after being snubbed by Alibaba's overseas listing in 2014.

But the China Tower deal comes amid a slump in the Hong Kong bourse, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index trading down about 6 percent from the start of this year.

Chinese smartphone Xiaomi debuted on the exchange last month with shares priced at the low end of its expected range, which saw a disappointing valuation of almost half of its target.

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Trump accuses China, EU of currency manipulation
Washington (AFP) July 20, 2018
President Donald Trump on Friday launched a fresh attack on American trading partners, saying the EU and China were manipulating their currencies, and he threatened to hit all imports from China with high tariffs. The comments also signaled an undiminished appetite for battle on multiple fronts after a week dominated by coverage of the fallout from his dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The harsh comments took fresh aim at pillars of the international economic system and underscored ... read more