China's industrial firms see slower profit growth -- China's major industrial firms reported slower profit growth in the first 11 months, but saw progress in improving profitability and lowering debt levels, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on December 27. Businesses with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan (about 3 million U.S. dollars) reported aggregate profits of 6.88 trillion yuan in the first 11 months, a 21.9-percent increase from one year earlier. The growth marked a mild slowdown from 23.3 percent in the January-October period. In November alone, profits were up by 14.9 percent, down from 25.1 percent during the previous month and the weakest pace since April.
China's foreign trade growth exceeds expectations this year -- In the first 11 months of the year, China's trade in goods exceeded 25 trillion yuan, representing an increase of 15.6 percent year on year, with the growth hitting a six-year high, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Since the beginning of this year, China’s trade structure has been further improved. In the first 11 months, growth of the country’s service trade exports exceeded that of the imports for the first time, said Zhong Shan, Minister of Commerce of China at a recent national conference.
China's service trade deficit rises in November -- China's service trade deficit rose in November after two months of declines, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said on December 27. The deficit stood at 120.8 billion yuan (about 18.4 billion U.S. dollars) last month, up from 117.5 billion yuan in October, the SAFE data showed. Income from trade in services was 124.9 billion yuan, while expenditures totaled 245.7 billion yuan.
China's banking sector's total assets rise to 244 trln yuan -- China's banking sector's total assets were 244.44 trillion yuan (about 37 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of November, up 10 percent year on year. Meanwhile, total liabilities of financial institutions in the banking industry rose 10 percent year-on-year to 225.37 trillion yuan, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said in a monthly report. It also said the country's commercial banks' total assets reached 189.45 trillion yuan by the end of November, accounting for 77.5 percent of the sector total.
Non-fossil fuel accounts for 17.6 pct of China's energy output -- China's non-fossil fuel production has gained steam amid a government campaign for more clean energy use to curb pollution, official data showed on December 26. China's energy production is expected to reach 3.6 billion tonnes of standard coal equivalent in 2017, among which non-fossil fuel output accounts for 17.6 percent, 6.4 percentage points higher than the percentage in 2012, according to information from a national work conference on energy. By the end of 2017, China's installed power generation capacity is expected to reach 1.77 billion kilowatts, and non-fossil fuel generation capacity accounts for 38.1 percent of the total.
China's money market fund assets hit record high -- Assets managed by China's money market funds have hit a record high as savers' demand for higher returns on investment remains strong, latest data showed. Money market funds managed over 6.8 trillion yuan (around 1 trillion U.S. dollars) of assets by the end of November, up 2.52 trillion yuan from the end of last year, according to the China Banking Association. These funds accounted for nearly 60 percent of all mutual funds, a record-high proportion, the association said.
China to maintain steady transport investment in 2018 -- China will invest steadily in transport development in 2018, flat with this year, Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng said on December 25. In 2017, fixed asset investment in railways and highways was targeted to reach 800 billion yuan (about 122 billion U.S. dollars) and 1.65 trillion yuan. Citing the main transport target for next year, Li said around 5,000 km of highways would be built and put into use. Besides, the country will renovate about 200,000 km of roads in rural areas and increase over 600 km of inland waterways.
China cuts 88 bln yuan in logistics costs in 2017 -- China reduced logistics costs by more than 88 billion yuan (13.4 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017, the Ministry of Transport said on December 25. The cuts were made through measures such as the removal of some road tolls in provincial-level regions and streamlined traffic services, according to the ministry.
Chinese SOEs maintain double-digit profit growth -- Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) maintained double-digit profit growth in the first 11 months, official data showed on December 22. Combined SOE profits rose 23.5 percent year-on-year to 2.6 trillion yuan (around 395.6 billion U.S. dollars) for the January-November period, the Ministry of Finance said. The growth slowed from the 24.6-percent increase in the first 10 months and the 24.9-percent rise in the first three quarters, but it was still higher than the 21.7-percent expansion seen in the first eight months.
China province sees robust tea export growth -- Tea exports form Guizhou, China's largest tea-planting province, have grown every year since 2012, local authorities said on December 23. From January to November this year, Guizhou's tea exports more than doubled to over 72 million U.S. dollars. Tea has become the province's third biggest export after liquor and tobacco.
China's lottery sales up 11.8 pct in November -- China's lottery sales rose 11.8 percent year on year to 38.56 billion yuan (about 5.82 billion U.S. dollars) in November, according to the Ministry of Finance. Sales of welfare lottery tickets increased 8.6 percent year on year to 19.4 billion yuan last month, while sports lottery sales went up 15.2 percent to 19.15 billion yuan, the ministry said.
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