The number of newly started projects falls 17.8 per cent as growth rates weaken
Fixed assets investment, a main economic indicator of government-driven investment in infrastructure projects and in manufacturing, slowed considerably last month.
This is the latest sign that the efforts to rein in credit expansion that began in the summer are paying off.
Figures from the State Statistical Bureau show fixed assets investment grew 22.6 per cent to 395 billion yuan (HK$371 billion) in October but the growth rate, which is 3.9 percentage points lower than September's, is the slowest in recent months, the bureau said.
A more startling decline in growth came in the number of newly started projects which fell 17.8 per cent to 9,056 last month compared to the previous month.
For the first 10 months of the year, investors poured 3 trillion yuan into fixed asset investments, up 30.2 per cent year on year, but the growth rate was 1.2 percentage points lower than in the first nine months.
Of the 3 trillion yuan, 1.6 trillion went into infrastructure, up 28.6 per cent year on year, while 591 billion yuan went into industrial upgrading, up 34.1 per cent. A total of 737 billion yuan went into the development of new property, up 31.3 per cent.
