China’s Q3 GDP growth remains stable at 6.7%

BEIJING - China's third-quarter economic growth stabilised at 6.7%, according to official data, a number in line with estimates as weaker exports and investments were counterbalanced by a heated housing market. The figure is within the Government's target of 6.5% to 7% for the full year.

China’s three major economic engines are moving in different directions, according to a Caixn report.

Exports and investments showed signs of weakness in recent months, while consumption has contributed more to growth, said Lian Ping, Chief Economist at the Bank of Communications.

Export growth slid 10% in September from a year earlier, the biggest drop since February, due to sluggish demand both at home and abroad, even though the yuan depreciated, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Growth in investment from the private sector, which accounted for more than 60% of fix-asset investment, slightly rebounded to 2.5% in the first nine months, better than a 2.1% gain in the first eight months, the slowest since the NBS started to release data in 2012, as private investors appeared to lose faith in the economy.

While overall investment cooled, the red-hot housing market continued its months-long buying frenzy, expanding faster in August. Sales of new homes grew by 43.2% in the first nine months from a year earlier, far higher than an 18.2% gain in the same period a year before. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).