China's fixed asset investment rose a year-on-year 23.0 per cent to 308.1 billion yuan (US$37.1 billion) in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.
The growth was slightly lower than the 24.7 per cent recorded in September due to the decline in infrastructure investment, the bureau said in a statement.
For the first 10 months, fixed assets investment reached 2,286.9 billion yuan (US$275.5 billion) - an increase of 24.1 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Investment in infrastructure rose a year-on-year 24.1 per cent to 1,204.1 billion yuan (US$145 billion) during the period.
Investment in technical upgrades and real estate grew a year-on-year 16.7 per cent and 29.8 per cent respectively to 429.4 billion yuan (US$51.7 billion) and 558.8 billion yuan (US$67.3 billion).
For the past four years, China has been investing heavily in infrastructure and other public projects in an attempt to lift economic growth.
The central government also took a series of measures to stimulate investment from private firms and foreign-funded companies.
China's fixed assets investment, spurred mainly by State treasury bonds, has played and will continue to play a leading role in the country's economic development, said Hu Shaowei, a senior economist with the State Information Center.
Experience gained from developed countries suggest that if a country's fixed assets investment grows at a higher rate, the country's GDP growth will be higher, he said.
During the first nine months of this year, China's gross domestic product grew a year-on-year 7.9 per cent.
(China Daily November 20, 2002)
