By Hao Zhou (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-09-21 17:13

Savings drop has slowed down evidently amid continuous increases in the interest rates, according to a survey conducted by the People's Bank of China in 50 Chinese cities, the Shanghai Morning Post reported.

The survey results, released yesterday, showed a growing number of Chinese citizens, 44.9 percent at the moment, think the current deposit interest rate is "moderate", after the central bank lifted the benchmark interest rates continuously in July and August this year, and also lowered the interest tax rate.

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Citizen's willingness to deposit money in banks has dropped for four quarters in a row since the third quarter last year. However, the interest hike slowed the decline.

Between the first and the third quarter this year, the proportion of citizens willing to deposit reduced 5.6, 4 and 0.9 percentage points respectively compared with a quarter before, suggesting the pace of the slowdown has significantly diminished.

Nonetheless, only 3.5 percent of the surveyed were "satisfied" with current consumer goods prices level, down 22.5 percentage points compared with the proportion in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, some 61.3 percent, 11.1 percentage points higher than a quarter before, predicted the consumer goods prices will continue to surge in the last quarter this year.

Additionally, citizens were more passionate in fund investment rather than in stocks directly. The survey recorded a 44.3 percent high of the citizens considered fund investment more profitable than bank savings. By contrast, only 25.3 percent would rather put money in banks.

During the third quarter, 25.4 percent of citizens held funds as the major stake in their family financial structure. At the same time, 50.4 percent had banking deposits as their top financial asset, compared with 70.4 percent in the first quarter last year.

The survey also suggested more citizens in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai wanted to purchase houses in the fourth quarter. The proportion went up 1.5 and 4.5 percentage points respectively in Beijing and Shanghai compared with the third quarter.