China’s economy slows on worsening property market

Sentiment affected: Workers of a private delivery company sorting out parcels at a pickup point in Beijing. China’s retail sales growth weakened to 3.9%, missing economists’ forecasts of a 4.7% gain. — AP

BEIJING: China’s economy slowed further in November, dragged down by a worsening property market slump and disruptions from repeated Covid-19 outbreaks.

Growth in fixed-asset investment eased to 5.2% in the first 11 months of the year. Property investment grew 6% in the same period, slowing from 7.2% during the January-October period, as financing rules remained strict and home sales plunged.

Industrial output rose 3.8% from a year earlier, quickening from 3.5% in October and above the 3.7% projected by economists.

Retail sales growth weakened to 3.9%, missing economists’ forecasts of a 4.7% gain. Sales in the restaurant and catering sector dropped 2.7%, as people stayed home amid renewed virus outbreaks.

The data highlights the downward pressure on the economy from the real-estate sector and the scale of the challenge facing the Chinese government in stabilising the world’s second-largest economy.

While Beijing is expected to make more credit available and signalled some easing of controls on the property market to support “stability,” officials last week maintained the basic stance that “houses are for living in, not speculation.”

The economy’s slowdown has prompted Beijing to shift its focus to stabilising growth, with the central bank easing monetary policy and the Communist Party ordering more fiscal spending in 2022.

Earlier yesterday the central bank kept the interest rate for one-year loans to banks unchanged and only rolled over about half of the maturing debts, withdrawing liquidity from the economy.

However, a recently announced cut to the reserve requirement ratio for banks takes effect from yesterday, which will increase the amount of money financial institutions have on hand to lend.

“The international environment is increasingly complex and grim and there are still many constraints on the domestic economic recovery,” the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

We must “combine the cross-cyclical and counter-cyclical macro policy adjustments so as to stabilise the overall macro economy.”

Infrastructure investment, another weak link in China’s slow recovery this year, rose at a slower pace of 0.5%.

Local governments have stepped up efforts to borrow money and start new projects and Beijing has allowed authorities to start selling next year’s bonds from Jan 1 to speed up spending. — Bloomberg