BEIJING: China is expected to see a robust level of domestic investment demand growth starting late August, according to a major investment bank. Leading indicators of infrastructure, property and manufacturing investment demand all point to strong momentum in the near term, said China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC) in a report. According to the report, with stabilized financial conditions and rising cash levels of local governments, infrastructure investment is unlikely to experience a sharp slowdown. Property investment growth will continue to be resilient, although the tightening demand-side policies may slow momentum of property sales.
Reconstruction of run-down areas have sped up in the country’s third and fourth tier cities since May. With relocation largely underway, government-led property investment is expected to follow. Manufacturing investment growth is also to stay on the uptrend, with industrial enterprise profitability and balance sheets improving, according to CICC. Sectors related to consumption or industrial upgrading will continue to attract investment in the third quarter. China’s economy continued steady expansion in the first half of this year with GDP up 6.9 percent. Fixed-asset investment grew 8.6 percent year on year in the first half, down 0.6 percentage points from the first quarter, while private sector investment was up 7.2 percent to 17 trillion yuan, accounting for 60.7 percent of the total.
