| |
Magazines Archives - 2007 October
China records fastest retail sales growth
Story 1
CHINAS retail sales for August this year totalled RMB711.7 billion (US$94.5 billion), increasing by about 17.1% year-on-year, by far the fastest growth rate that the country has seen since May 2004. This is according to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, which also reported that over the past eight months, retail sales volume grew by 15.7%, accounting for more than RMB5.6 trillion.
Despite the rosy outlook, analysts are quick to state that the growth is a reflection of strong inflation in China, which grew by about 1% from the previous month, rather than a hastening economy. Retail sales growth is obviously strong. The problem is that the figures are being pushed up by the rising inflation as well, said Paul Cavey, an economist with Macquire Securities, Hong Kong.
However, Lin Songli, senior economist at Guosen Securities, Beijing, recognised that consumption is only beginning to pick up, as the country continues to shift from unsustainable reliance on export.
Lin added: Consumption growth has not reached its peak yet, and we are now expecting even [higher] growth rates in the coming months.
As such, the government has stepped up its efforts to increase consumer expenditure by ensuring better social welfare for its people. Consequently, measures have been put in place to reduce the economys dependence on investments and exports, while providing a larger budget for education and health to encourage people to save for future spending.
Of the categories grown, sales of grain and oil rose significantly by 44%, as did meat, poultry and eggs, which surged by 45.2%. At the same time, total sales for the wholesale and retail sectors soared by 17.2% over last year, to RMB597.3 billion, while sales in the catering and lodging industry grew to RMB98.5 billion, up by 19.1%. In July, the bureau reported a 16.4% growth in retail sales over the same period from the previous year.
|
|
|
|
