China’s economic growth softens in October as property sector continues to drag investment

National fixed-asset investment fell by 1.7 per cent from January to October, a significant widening of the 0.5 per cent drop recorded in the first nine months and an even steeper decline than the 0.71 per cent decrease forecast by Chinese financial data provider Wind.

A National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) official partly attributed the fall to cautious investor sentiment and the slowdown in the property market, but expressed confidence that Beijing would achieve its annual growth target.

“The external environment is complex and challenging, while domestic competition is intense, and with declining investment returns, market participants have become more cautious in making investment decisions,” said Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the bureau, at a press conference for the data release on Friday.

“With weaker corporate profitability and the reduced appetite of private investors, overall investment growth slowed.”

He added that investment in real estate accounted for a 3 percentage point drag on overall investment, since the sector makes up a large share of the total.