Signs of growth stabilization emerging in China: HSBC

BEIJING -- Chinese economy showed signs of growth stabilization and even a quicker-than expected recovery in some pockets of the economy, a HSBC economist said in a research note available on Sunday.

Julia Wang, the HSBC economist, made the remarks following the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) unveiled mixed macroeconomic indicators for the first two months on Saturday, which signalled more signs of improvement.

"Property investment appeared to have bottomed out, while infrastructure investment also grew at a robust pace. New project starts have also been picking up fairly strongly," said Wang.

But the economist said Saturday's data "won't be sufficient to ease deflationary pressures" as "retail sales missed expectations", exports declined sharply and industrial output growth was slower-than expected. "So further policy easing is still warranted."

To speak for himself, Wang also quoted the central bank officials' reiteration of "easing bias," suggesting that both monetary and fiscal easing will likely continue in the coming months.

NBS data showed fixed-asset investment growth picked up to 10.2 percent year on year in the first two months, beating market expectations and up from the 8.2 percent seen in December. Notably, new project investment jumped by 41.1 percent in the first two months, indicating a stronger investment pipeline.