China’s Lunar New Year spending growth slows to decade low despite record US$148.96 billion sales
- National retail and catering revenue rose just 8.5 per cent compared to 10.2 per cent last year, the Ministry of Commerce said
- Growth rate for tourism revenue also down from 12.1 per cent in 2018 to 8.2 per cent this year, a total spend of 513.9 billion yuan during the 2019 holiday period
Sales growth in China during the seven-day Lunar New Year Holiday slowed to the lowest rate in a decade this month, questioning if the government can unleash the country’s domestic growth potential to counter the slowdown in the economy.
National retail and catering revenue rose 8.5 per cent during the holiday to 1.005 trillion yuan (US$148.96 billion), the Ministry of Commerce said on Sunday.
But even though the overall sales figure reached a record high, the growth rate fell from the 10.2 per cent witnessed last year to the lowest rate since the government began publishing holiday sales data a decade ago.
Ding Shuang, Greater China chief economist for Standard Chartered Bank, said that holiday spending “may no longer grow by double-digits.”
“Actually, [sales] would have been worse without the recently released consumption incentives,” he added.
The growth rate for tourism revenue was also down from 12.1 per cent in 2018 to 8.2 per cent this year, with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism confirming 513.9 billion yuan was spent during the 2019 holiday period.