While waiting for other news, some interesting stats from NN's target area in China:
chinadaily.net
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Date: 11/29/98
Author: Wang Rong
Page: 5
GUANGZHOU _ Rising investment over the first 10 months this year has made the authorities in South China's Guangdong Province hopeful the target of 10 per cent growth in gross domestic product this year can be reached in spite of the Asian financial crisis.
From January to October, Guangdong's GDP grew by 9.9 per cent to 632.4 billion yuan (US$76.18 billion), according to statistics from the Guangdong Statistics Bureau (GSB).
Gross industrial output by State industrial enterprises and enterprises with yearly sales volume of at least 5 million yuan (US$602,000) rose 13.2 per cent to 744.27 billion yuan (US$89.67 billion).
Added value produced by this sector amounted to 195.72 billion yuan (US$23.58 billion), rising 11.2 per cent.
Commodity retail volume added up to 262.19 billion yuan (US$31.59 billion), up 10.6 per cent from a year earlier.
Taking inflation into account, this growth reached 13.9 per cent.
"Much of the credit should be given to the rise in investment during this period," said the GSB report.
From January to October, investment in fixed assets went up by 18.3 per cent to 133.17 billion yuan (US$15.04 billion), excluding investment by villages and individuals.
Experts from GSB said the acceleration of growth demonstrates the impact of a series of measures taken by the government this year.
The measures include increased investment to stimulate domestic demand, the campaign to stamp out smuggling, and favourable policies for exporters.
However, the Asian financial crisis has undermined the region's foreign trade.
During the first 10 months of this year, Guangdong's export volume expanded by only 3.5 per cent to US$62.29 billion, although it still accounted for over 40 per cent of the national total.
Import business increased only by 0.8 per cent to US$43.92 billion.
Meanwhile, Guangdong has maintained stability in finance, although great concern was aroused by the closure of the debt-stricken Guangdong International Trust and Investment Corporation.
From January to October, provincial fiscal revenues grew 16.9 per cent to 50.6 billion yuan (US$6.1 billion), while expenditure was up 16.6 per cent to 54.63 billion yuan (US$6.58 billion).
By the end of October, savings in the province's financial institutions had risen 12.8 per cent to 1.28 trillion yuan (US$154.7 billion).
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