China’s economy shows stabilization

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November 15, 2016

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China’s economy shows stabilization

By Leng Cheng | November 15, 2016, Tuesday |

Print Edition

CHINA’S economy showed more signs of stabilizing in October, but disappointing retail sales growth clouded the outlook.

In the first 10 months, fixed-asset investment rose 8.3 percent year on year, slightly ahead of market expectations, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed yesterday.

Investment by state-owned companies surged 20.5 percent, though the pace cooled slightly from the first nine months.

In an encouraging sign, growth of private investment picked up to 2.9 percent from 2.5 percent in the January-September period, though it remained sluggish after hitting a record low of 2.1 percent in the first eight months of the year.

Private investment accounts for about 60 percent of overall investment in China.

The increased FAI was buoyed by infrastructure projects and was a reflection of “improving demand and strengthening internal growth engine,” Mao Shengyong, a bureau spokesman, said at a media briefing yesterday.

But growth in retail sales in October cooled to a five-month low of 10 percent from 10.7 percent in September, missing analysts’ hopes for a steady growth.

“The main reason to blame is the high level of comparison with last year,” Mao said, adding that booming car sales due to tax preferential policies pushed higher the figure of October last year.

But “consumption can maintain stable growth. There should not be a problem achieving this year’s GDP growth targets,” Mao said.

October’s industrial output also missed expectations, rising 6.1 percent to match the same pace as in September. Higher factory prices have helped boost industrial profits, giving companies some breathing space amid government campaign to trim capacity.

Bank lending also slowed sharply last month, data last week showed, suggesting that demand for mortgages was cooling after a series of measures imposed by over 20 local governments in October. These measures slowed the growth in housing sales to 26 percent year on year in October from 35 percent in September.

Economy

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China’s economy shows stabilization

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