Related News
City retail sales rise 15.5% in March
By Wang Yanlin |
April 16, 2010, Friday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
SHANGHAI'S retail sales expanded 15.5 percent from a year earlier to 47.4 billion yuan (US$6.95 billion) in March, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said today.
The growth rate was much slower than the rise of 27.6 percent in February, mainly due to less demand after the Chinese Spring Festival holiday. But it was still within a healthy range and compared with an increase of 14 percent for 2009.
"People's spending continued to grow steadily despite of uncertainties in the broader economy," said Li Maoyu, an analyst at Changjiang Securities Co. "But local demand is still not sufficient enough to become a major driver of the economy. Stimulus may work to spur demand, but more should be done to improve the social safety net, which assures people and makes them feel safe to spend."
Affordable housing, education and healthcare services were the main components of the safety net that needed to be improved, Li added.
Shanghai city government has set a target of 8 percent for this year's economic growth. Last year, Shanghai's gross domestic product increased 8.2 percent on an annual basis to 1.49 trillion yuan.
In a separate report by the bureau, it said the consumer confidence index in the city rose to 113.5 in the first three months of this year, up from 108.1 in the previous quarter. A reading above 100 indicates optimism.
The growth rate was much slower than the rise of 27.6 percent in February, mainly due to less demand after the Chinese Spring Festival holiday. But it was still within a healthy range and compared with an increase of 14 percent for 2009.
"People's spending continued to grow steadily despite of uncertainties in the broader economy," said Li Maoyu, an analyst at Changjiang Securities Co. "But local demand is still not sufficient enough to become a major driver of the economy. Stimulus may work to spur demand, but more should be done to improve the social safety net, which assures people and makes them feel safe to spend."
Affordable housing, education and healthcare services were the main components of the safety net that needed to be improved, Li added.
Shanghai city government has set a target of 8 percent for this year's economic growth. Last year, Shanghai's gross domestic product increased 8.2 percent on an annual basis to 1.49 trillion yuan.
In a separate report by the bureau, it said the consumer confidence index in the city rose to 113.5 in the first three months of this year, up from 108.1 in the previous quarter. A reading above 100 indicates optimism.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
