Slower growth for China's property, financial sectors in Q4

Beijing

GROWTH in China's real estate and financial sector slowed in the fourth quarter of 2016, despite an uptick in the overall service sector that contributed to better-than-expected GDP growth in the quarter, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Saturday.

China reported on Friday that its economy expanded by 6.8 per cent in the fourth quarter thanks to strong consumer spending and record bank lending to stimulate the economy, despite rising debt concerns.

China's services sector contributed 58.2 per cent to the country's economic growth in 2016, marking a rise of 5.3 per cent from a year ago, the NBS said. The service sector accounted for 51.6 per cent of China's total gross domest…