The economy of South China's Guangdong Province saw noticeably fast growth in the first nine months, with gross domestic product (GDP) increasing by 13 per cent compared to the same period last year.

In the third quarter alone, GDP grew by 13.3 per cent year-on-year, compared to year-on-year growth of 12.4 per cent in the second quarter.

In the first nine months, the province's GDP came to 930.2 billion yuan (US$112 billion), increasing by 13 per cent compared with the same period last year. The growth rate was 2.5 percentage points higher than for the first nine months of last year

"Guangdong's economic growth is expected to be maintained at 13 per cent for the year as a whole," said Pu Xinmin, director of the Guangdong Provincial Statistics Bureau.

The economy has experienced a U-shaped trend. Towards the end of the year, it is expected to rebound to the highest point after recovering from the negative impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome this spring, according to Zhu Weiping, a professor with the Guangzhou-based Jinan University.

Industry contributed more to the overall economy than either agriculture and mining or the service sector.

"Of GDP growth, 67.5 per cent came from industry," Pu said.

In the January-September period, fixed-asset investment rose a year-on-year 29 per cent to 305.67 billion yuan (US$36.83 billion).

Investment in real estate was 20 per cent lower compared with a year ago.

Retail sales of consumer goods came to 399.73 billion yuan (US$48.16 billion), a year-on-year increase of 11 per cent.

Imports and exports rose by 25.8 per cent to US$200.9 billion. Of that total, exports increased by 25.1 per cent to US$106.7 billion, while imports grew by 26.6 per cent to US$94.2 billion.

Close

Today's Top News		Top National News
+Grain prices surge - first time in six years ( 2003-10-22) +Alerts issued on overheated sectors ( 2003-10-22) +Joint naval operation held off east coast ( 2003-10-22) +Communal elections sprout up in cities ( 2003-10-23) +Recruitment drive nears fruition ( 2003-10-22)		+Profit hunger eating away eco-system ( 2003-10-23) +President talks up trip down under ( 2003-10-23) +Property sector posts decrease ( 2003-10-23) +Expo bureau plan 2010 event ( 2003-10-23) +Ten die at banquet; rat toxin suspected ( 2003-10-23)