China's fixed asset investment up 27.3 percent

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

BEIJING (AFP) — China's urban fixed asset investment rose 27.3 percent in the first seven months of 2008 compared with a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

Fixed-asset investment in cities -- a key measure of spending on productive capacity -- was 7.22 trillion yuan (1.05 trillion dollars) for the period, the bureau said.

"In July, fixed-asset investment again accelerated to a certain extent," said a statement accompanying the bureau's release of last month's data.

"That's positive for tackling the issues arising from a weakening in external demand," it said.

The fixed-asset investment figures were issued at the end of a week in which government data had confirmed China's export-dependent economy is facing a slowdown due...