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Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 20:43
China's industrial output up 6.2% in Oct
By Xinhua
Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 20:43 By Xinhua

In this Dec 23, 2016 photo, residential buildings and office blocks are seen on a clear day in Beijing, China. (GREG BAKER / AFP)

BEIJING - China's industrial value-added output expanded 6.2 percent year on year in October, compared with 6.6-percent growth in September, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Tuesday.

On a month-on-month basis, industrial output edged up 0.5 percent from September, according to the NBS.

In the January-October period, combined industrial output grew 6.7 percent year on year, flat with the first nine months of the year.

In the January-October period, combined industrial output grew 6.7 percent year on year, flat with the first nine months of the year

ALSO READ: China's industrial profits up 21.6% in first eight months

"The industrial output maintained overall stability, and corporate profitability continued to improve," NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua told a press conference.

Though moderating from September, October's industrial output growth was 0.1 percentage point higher than that of the same period last year, she said.

For the January-October period, output growth picked up 0.7 percentage points from the same period last year, she told reporters.

In the first nine months of the year, industrial firms above the designated size posted a 22.8-percent year-on-year increase in combined profits, up 14.4 percentage points from a year earlier, according to Liu.

Industrial output is used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan (around US$3 million).

In October, manufacturing output increased 6.7 percent year on year, while output from suppliers of power, heating, fuel gas and water gained 9.2 percent. The mining sector, however, fell 1.3 percent.  

Retail sales up

China's retail sales of consumer goods grew 10 percent year on year in October, down from 10.3 percent registered in September.

Total sales in the first 10 months rose 10.3 percent to 29.74 trillion yuan (US$4.48 trillion).

The pace was slightly slower than an increase of 10.4 percent for the first three quarters.

The steady growth was partly due to booming online sales, which surged 34 percent year on year in the first 10 months.

In the same period, retail sales in rural areas rose 12 percent, outpacing the 10-percent expansion for urban areas.

Booming retail sales are behind China's stabilizing economy, which grew 6.9 percent in the first three quarters.

China is trying to shift its economy toward a growth model driven more by consumer spending, innovation and services while weaning it off overreliance on exports and investment.

Property investment, sales slow

Both investment and sales in China's property sector slowed in the first 10 months as the market remained cool amid government policies to curb speculation.

Real estate investment rose 7.8 percent year on year in January-October from the same period last year, down from 8.1 percent in the first three quarters.

Investment for residential properties, which accounts for 68.3 percent of total investment in the sector, rose 9.9 percent year on year.

Property sales in terms of floor area climbed 8.2 percent, retreating 2.1 percentage points from the January-September level.

By the end of October, 602.58 million square meters of property remained unsold, down by 8.82 million square meters from a month earlier.

Chinese authorities have been stepping up efforts to rein in property speculation this year after rocketing housing prices fueled asset bubble concerns, particularly in major cities.

Dozens of local governments have passed or expanded restrictions on house purchases and increased the minimum down payments required for mortgages.

The property market was also cooled by relatively tightened liquidity conditions as the government moved to contain leverage and risk in the financial system.

In September, new residential housing price saw slower growth in 15 major cities compared with the same month last year. Meanwhile, of 70 cities surveyed, home prices in 44 cities rose month on month, compared with 46 in August.  

Fixed-asset investment sees steady growth, better structure

Growth in China's fixed-asset investment (FAI) maintained a stable growth in the first ten months of this year while investment structure continued to improve.

In the January-October period, FAI grew 7.3 percent year on year to 51.78 trillion yuan (about US$7.8 trillion).

The growth was 0.2 percentage points slower from the January-September  level. On a month-on-month basis, FAI in October rose 0.52 percent from that of September.

Infrastructure investment maintained a strong pace by rising 19.6 percent in the ten-month period, driven by investment in public facility management and road transport.

Despite some fluctuations in monthly figures, "investment has continued to play a role in improving supply structure," Liu Aihua said.

FAI to high-tech manufacturing jumped 16.8 percent in the first ten months, much faster than the overall investment growth, NBS data showed.

Meanwhile, investment to high energy-consuming industries dropped 2.2 percent year on year.

The NBS calculation does not include investment made by farmers. It includes projects with planned investment of more than 5 million yuan and all property development.

Private investment up

China's private fixed-asset investment recorded a slowdown in growth in the first 10 months of this year, but the overall investment structure has improved, official data showed Tuesday.

In the first 10 months, FAI by the private sector grew 5.8 percent year on year to 31.37 trillion yuan (about US$4.73 trillion).

The growth rate was lower than the 6-percent increase for the first nine months, said the NBS.

The amount accounted for 60.6 percent of the total FAI, compared with 60.5 percent for the January-September period.

Private investment to the primary sector rose 15.6 percent in the 10-month period, followed by an increase of 7.7 percent for the service sector and 3.2 percent for the secondary sector.

FAI for water conservation, environmental protection and public facility management jumped 24.5 percent, while that in mining dropped 18.8 percent year on year in the first 10 months.

READ MORE: China's industrial profits up 22.8% in first 9 months

The private sector contributes more than 60 percent of China's GDP growth and provides over 80 percent of jobs.

To stimulate private investment activities, the government has taken moves like streamlining investment project approvals for private investors, encouraging them to participate in major projects and introducing mixed-ownership reform in state-owned enterprises.

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