China's industrial profit improves

Major Chinese industrial firms combined profits rose to 11. 6 per cent year-on-year in July, improving from 6.3 per cent seen in June, pointing to the recovery of the world's second largest economy.
The profits of industrial companies with annual revenues of more than 20 million yuan (USD 3.24 million) hit 419.55 billion yuan in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.
In the first seven months, their profits rose 11.1 per cent to 3.0 trillion yuan.
Among the 41 industries surveyed, 27 posted year-on-year profit growth during the January-July period, while 11 saw profit decline.

Two sectors reported turnarounds in profitability and one reported narrowing losses, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.
Breaking it down, private businesses led the growth, with their combined profits up 15.4 per cent year-on-year in the first seven months, while state-run enterprises saw profits up 5.5 per cent during the period.

While acknowledging the acceleration of profit growth, NBS analyst He Ping also cautioned that the gains were too concentrated in several sectors and the aggregate business profitability remained at a relatively low level as production costs keep climbing.
Electricity, heat production and supply industry saw profits jump 73.5 per cent in the first seven months, and manufacturers of computers, telecommunication and electronics saw their profits rise 29 per cent.

Tuesday's data came after a string of other economic indicators, from factory output and retail sales to foreign trade, showed the world's second-largest economy may be gradually stabilising after a protracted slowdown.
Among the latest evidence, HSBC's preliminary reading for China's manufacturing sector showed the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 50.1 in August, the highest level in four months.
"China has shown clear signs of stabilising and the country is on track to meet its annual growth target of 7.5 per cent," NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun said.
China's economic growth eased to 7.5 per cent in the second quarter, down from 7.7 per cent in the first three months.

Instead of initiating a massive stimulus programme to lift the economy, the authorities are moving cautiously, including speeding up shantytown renovation, accelerating railways and infrastructure investments and reducing taxes for small businesses, to steady growth while driving through reforms for long-term good.
As these policies filter through, China's economy is showing mounting signs of stabilisation that has prompted the scale-up of growth forecast for the second half of the year, the Xinhua report said.