Chinese equities slip 0.08% as Q1 growth slows to 10-year low

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese equities retreated 0.08 percent Thursday to break a five-day rising streak -- after the government said the country's economy grew 6.1 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace in a decade.

The first-quarter growth was roughly in line with economists' expectations, and the National Bureau of Statistics spokesman Li Xiaochao, who announced the figure, said there have been positive changes. However, economists warned the economic outlook may still be grave.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dipped to 2,497.12 points, down 1.5 percent from the previous close, shortly after the figure was released.

The Shanghai index rebounded in the afternoon, led by heavy weighted bank shares. Bank of China rose 0.56 percent to 3.56yuan, while Commercial Bank of China retreated 0.24 percent to 4.11 yuan at the closing. China CITIC Bank rose 2.46 percent to 5 yuan.

The index finished the day at 2,534.13 points, down 1.92 pointsfrom the previous closing. Gains outnumbered losses by 466 to 379 in Shanghai, while losses outnumbered gains by 388 to 333 in Shenzhen.

The Shenzhen Component Index lost 0.14 percent, or 13.23 points, to close at 9,711.36.

Combined turnover went slightly higher to 270.24 billion yuan (39.74 billion U.S. dollars) from 268.93 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Coal producers, real estate developers and oil producers posted broad losses. China Shenhua, the nation's largest producer, fell 3.11 percent to 24.63 yuan. China Vanke, the country's largest property developer by market value, lost 1.51 percent to 8.46 yuan.

PetroChina declined 0.67 percent to 11.81 yuan and Sinopec slipped by 1.13 percent to 9.66 yuan. The two are the largest oil producers of the country.

Shipbuilders gained the most on news that China may announce to build an aircraft carrier next week, according to a report by Changjiang Securities. China CSSC Holdings Limited rose 5.89 percent to 70.97 yuan.

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China's March exports continue falling but at slower pace

BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- China's exports
fell for the fifth month in a row to 90.29 billion U.S. dollars in March, down
17.1 percent from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said
Friday.

In February, exports plummeted 25.7 percent year on year,
the worst decline in more than a decade. Full story

China's foreign reserves hit $1.95 trillion at end of
March

BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign
exchange reserves rose 16 percent year-on-year to 1.9537 trillion U.S. dollars
by the end of March, said the People's Bank of China on Saturday.

It represents an increase of 7.7 billion dollars for the first quarter, but
the increase was 146.2 billion dollars lower than the same period of last
year. Full story

Housing prices in China's major cities drop in March for 4th
month

BEIJING, April 14 -- Home prices declined in
March compared to a year earlier in 70 Chinese cities as they extended losses
for a fourth consecutive month, the country's top economic planner said on
Monday.

Prices in 70 medium and large cities fell 1.3 percent year
on year last month, the National Development and Reform Commission said on its
website. Prices dropped 1.2 percent in February, 0.9 percent in January and 0.4
percent in December. Full story

China's fiscal revenue down 0.3% in
March

BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry
of Finance (MOF) said Monday that fiscal revenue fell 0.3 percent from a year
earlier to 440.22 billion yuan (64.43 billion U.S. dollars) in March.

First-quarter fiscal revenue fell 8.3 percent to 1.46
trillion yuan, the ministry said on its website, while tax revenue shrank 10.3
percent to 1.3 trillion yuan.Full story

China sees smaller decline in business climate index in Q1,
confidence
recovers

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China's business
climate index, a main gauge of macro-economic outlook, continued to fall in the
first quarter, but the decline was much smaller than that for the previous
quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday.

The quarterly business climate index slipped from 107 at
the end of last year to 105.6 in the first quarter this year, the NBS said. It
was the third drop in a row as the deepening global financial crisis continues
to hit the Chinese economy.Full story

Foreign direct investment in China declines 20.6% in
Q1

BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Foreign
investment activities dampened by the world financial crisis seemed to show
signs of warming up in China as the decline of foreign direct investment (FDI)
continued to slow in March.

Statistics released by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on
Wednesday showed the FDI dropped for the sixth consecutive month in March to 8.4
billion U.S. dollars, down 9.5 percent from a year earlier.Full story

China power use contraction slows in March on economic
recovery
signs

BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Power consumption
in China continued to decline in March but the downward pace was slower,
reflecting signs of a recovering economy, industry figures showed Tuesday.

China's power use fell 2.01 percent year on year in March,
compared with a dip of 5.2 percent in the January-February period, said the
China Electricity Council (CEC) in a statement on its Website.Full story

China imports record volume of iron ore in
March

TIANJIN, April 14 (Xinhua) -- China's steel
industry overestimated the country's demand for iron ore and as a result
imported a record high amount of the material in March.

A surge of domestic steel output and price increases in
the beginning of 2009 raised market expectations. Many domestic steel mills and
traders increased orders for iron ore in February and March as they anticipated
demand would continue growing, said Liang Shuhe, deputy-director with the
Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), at an industry
conference in the port city of Tianjin Monday.Full story

China's domestic car sales up 5% in March to record 1.11
mln

BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Sales of
domestically produced motor vehicles in China set a new record of 1.11 million
units in March, up 5 percent from a year earlier, the China Association of
Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said Thursday.

This was the third consecutive month that China's auto sales exceeded the
United States, the world's largest auto market.Full story

China's eonomic figures for first 2 month

Economic data in Feb.

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border=0>

CPI falls to minus
1.6% in Feb.

src="http://news.Chinese medianet.com/english/2009-03/12/xin_3620306120958640116237.jpg"
border=0>

PPI down 4.5% in
Feb.

src="http://news.Chinese medianet.com/english/2009-03/12/xin_3620306120958765299708.jpg"
border=0>

Exports plummeted
25.7% year-on-year in February

src="http://news.Chinese medianet.com/english/2009-03/12/xin_48203061210474841114512.jpg"
border=0>

Imports slumped 24.1
percent

Full story

Economic data in Jan.

China's CPI up 1%
in January: BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's consumer price
index (CPI), a major gauge of inflation, rose by 1 percent in January over the
same month last year, the National Bureau of Statistics announced Tuesday.

China'sPPIdown 3.3%in January:
In January, the producer price index (PPI), another measure of
inflation at the wholesale level, dropped 3.3 percent. The decline was 2.2
percentage points above the December level. Full story

Economic data in 2008

Jan.

Feb.

March

April

May

June

CPI

+7.1%

+8.7%

+8.3%

+8.5%

+7.7ге

+7.1%

PPI

+6.1%

+6.6%

+8%

+8.1%

+8.2%

+8.8%

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

CPI

+6.3%

+4.9%

+4.6%

+4%

+2.4%

+1.2%

PPI

+10%

+10.1%

+9.1%

+6.6%

+2.0%

-1.1%