China’s economy strains under disappointing data

Beijing gears up for switch to new housing loans interest rate policy

FE Team | Published: September 16, 2019 23:25:15

BEIJING, Sept 16 (AFP): China's economy showed more signs of strain on Monday as the country published weak data for industrial output, investment and retail sales, amid a lingering trade war with the United States.
Industrial output grew by 4.4 per cent year-on-year throughout August, falling to its lowest level in 17 years and down from 4.8 per cent in July.
The figure was well below analyst expectations, with a Bloomberg survey of analysts predicting heartier growth of 5.2 per cent.
"We must be aware that international instabilities and uncertainties are increasing significantly, and that at home economic structural issues are still prominent and the downward pressures on (the) economy are mounting," said Fu Linghui, a spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, which released the data.
Retail sales also slipped to post growth of 7.5 per cent -- 0.1 per cent down on the previous month and a knock to Beijing's aims to boost domestic consumption.
Investment in fixed assets saw year-on-year growth of 5.5 per cent in the first eight months of the year, 0.2 per cent less than the first seven months, including a slight dip in crucial real estate investment.
All three sets of data fell short of analyst expectations, with Bloomberg predicting 7.9 per cent growth in retail sales and 5.7 per cent growth in investments.
China's gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 6.2 per cent in the second quarter of the year-the weakest pace in almost three decades.
"For China to maintain growth of 6.0 per cent or more is very difficult against the current backdrop of a complicated international situation and a relatively high base, and this rate is at the forefront of the world's leading economies," Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was quoted as saying in an interview with Russian media which was published on the Chinese government's website.
A Xinhua report adds: China's housing market is expected to make a smooth transition toward the use of the loan primate rate (LPR) as the new benchmark for setting the interest rate of newly issued commercial individual housing loans.
Starting from Oct. 8, the loan benchmark interest rate in use will be replaced by the LPR as the central bank seeks to set its interest rate for commercial individual housing loans in a more market-based manner.
New mortgage rates for first-home purchases should not be lower than the related LPRs, while those for second-time buyers should be at least 60 basis points higher than the LPRs, said the People's Bank of China.
Sources from relevant governmental departments said that the switch has been quite smooth, with banking institutions in various regions making steady progress on deciding the minimum basis points to be added to the LPR in line with the conditions of local property markets.