BEIJING: China’s industrial profits has grown at a faster pace, though a deepening divergence across the economy weighed on business earnings.
Profits at industrial firms rose 14.4% from a year earlier last month, quickening from a 4.2% increase in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed yesterday.
Profits were up 15.5% in the first nine months of this year, largely unchanged from the 15.7% increase in the January to August period.
The sectoral divide remained pronounced, with profits in the computer, communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing category more than doubling over the nine-month period, whereas profits in the furniture manufacturing sector fell by more than half.
Also casting a shadow over the sustainability of profit growth, export-oriented firms are bracing for more uncertainty as expanding trade surpluses stoke tensions with trading partners, particularly Europe.
However, Citic Bank International’s chief China economist, Ding Meng, expressed optimism about the outlook due to the rapid growth in artificial intelligence (AI)-related industries.
“This suggests that domestic and external demand generated by the AI supply chain has become a key force supporting industrial profits.” — Reuters
