China: Investment growth stable in December
China’s urban fixed-asset investment expanded 7.2% annually in 2017, the lowest reading since 1999, which nevertheless beat market analysts’ expectations of 7.1%. The figure is stable compared to the growth rate recorded in the January-November period, but well below the 8.1% rise observed in 2016.
Fixed asset investment growth accelerated in the January-December period in the primary and secondary sectors compared to the January-November period, while the tertiary sector experienced a slowdown. Meanwhile, investment growth in the closely watched real estate sector decelerated for the fourth consecutive month.
From an ownership perspective, investment growth in fixed assets for state-owned firms kept on a downward trend over 2017, and decelerated in the full year 2017 compared to the January-November period. Fixed-asset investment growth in private companies accelerated slightly in 2017 over the January-November period.
A month-on-month comparison shows that investment in urban fixed assets rose a seasonally-adjusted 0.53% in December, broadly stable compared to November’s 0.52% rise.