UPDATE 1-PRESS DIGEST - China - March 12

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BEIJING/SHANGHAI, March 12 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Wednesday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

FINANCIAL NEWS

-- Wu Dingfu, chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory, said China should set up a disaster protection fund to improve its ability to respond to natural disasters.

-- Agricultural Bank President Xiang Junbo said the bank's restructuring plan has not yet been approved, and it is still too early to discuss the timing for a listing.

-- Liu Guisheng, president of China's Central Bank's Xi'an branch who is also a deputy at the current National People's Congress, suggested ending or freezing the temporary withholding tax on interest income.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

-- The central bank is most likely to respond to February's 11-year high inflation rate by maintaining the current pace of yuan appreciation while hiking bank reserve ratios by a large amount and strengthening controls on banks' lending, analysts say. But it may also hike official interest rates just to combat inflationary expectations.

-- Jiang Chaoliang, chairman of Bank of Communications (601328.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said the bank had no plans to raise funds from the markets because its current capital was enough to support expansion.