China: Investment growth accelerates in January-February
China’s urban fixed-asset investment expanded 7.9% annually in the first two months of the year, beating the 7.0% rise that market analysts had expected. The print was above the 7.2% in the full year 2017, which had marked the lowest reading since 1999.
Fixed asset investment growth accelerated in the January-February period due to a surge in the primary sector. Growth in the tertiary sector accelerated more timidly in the same period, while dynamics in the secondary sector softened. Meanwhile, investment growth in the closely watched real estate sector accelerated to a three-year high, defying fears of an abrupt slowdown in the real estate sector.
From an ownership perspective, investment growth in fixed assets for state-owned firms remained on a downward trend at the outset of the year, while investment growth among private companies accelerated to an over two-year high.
A month-on-month comparison shows that investment in urban fixed assets rose a seasonally-adjusted 0.61% in February, broadly stable compared to January’s 0.58% rise.