BEIJING (April 27): China's industrial profits in the first quarter recorded a small increase compared with the first two months, official figures showed on Saturday, pointing to an uneven recovery in the world's second-largest economy. The evidence for this is even stronger.
Profits at Chinese industrial enterprises rose 4.3% year-on-year in the first quarter, slower than the 10.2% rise in the first two months, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Profit in March was down 3.5% from the same month last year. NBS did not provide a breakdown of the monthly statistics for January and February, but said at the time that the monthly statistics had been increasing since August 2023.
The figures complement a number of economic indicators in March, including retail sales and industrial production, which showed weakness in domestic demand despite strong gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter. was.
Signs of economic momentum in the early months were shown to be gradually giving way to concerns about weak domestic demand.
People's Bank of China officials last week expressed caution about credit expansion amid weakening real credit demand.
Chinese electric vehicle battery company CATL said in early April that first-quarter profits returned to growth, but sales declined for the second consecutive quarter due to slowing demand and increased competition.
Fitch downgraded China's sovereign rating outlook to negative, citing risks to public finances as the economy faces increasing uncertainty in its transition to a new growth model.
The industrial profit figure covers companies with annual revenue from their main operations of at least 20 million yuan (US$2.76 million or RM13.17 million).
