Portfolio | Key sectors you should watch out for as China prepares next five-year plan

With Communist Party leaders set to gather for a four-day plenary meeting in two weeks, all eyes are on the 13th five-year plan, a strategic road map for mainland China’s economic and social development from 2016 to 2020, with guidelines for the plan expected to be announced during the meeting.

According to experts, there are several key sectors you may want to watch out for as they are likely to benefit from the plan.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch expects the central government to focus on three areas for development from 2016 to 2020: internet plus, strategic industries and the service sector.

Internet plus is a strategy pushed by Premier Li Keqiang in his government work report earlier this year that aims to integrate mobile internet, cloud computing, big data and the “internet of things” with traditional industries and boost e-commerce, industrial networks, internet banking and internet companies.

The bank predicts strategic industries may evolve from the seven strategic industries highlighted in the 12th five-year plan. They include energy saving and environmental protection, new generation information technology, biotechnology, high-end equipment, new energy, new materials and new energy cars, and the cultural sector. “It’s more a show of the government’s determination to promote innovation in our view,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategists David Cui, Tracy Tian and Katherine Tai said in a recent note.

They also expect the service sector, which covers both business-related and consumption-related areas, will also be favoured, with the government likely to continue its efforts to raise service’s share of gross domestic product during the 13th five-year plan.