China Jan-May property investment rises 8.8% year-on-year

[BEIJING] Real estate investment in China rose 8.8 per cent in the first five months of 2017 from a year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday.

The pace of investment growth eased from 9.3 per cent in January-April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

Property sales measured by floor area grew 14.3 per cent in January-May from the same period a year ago, down from 15.7 per cent in the first four months of the year.

New construction starts measured by floor area were up 9.5 per cent in the first five months of the year, compared with a 11.1 per cent rise in the first four months, the NBS data showed.

Real estate investment, which directly affects 40 other business sectors in China, is considered a crucial driver for the economy. But some analysts expect increasingly stringent cooling measures will eventually drag on investment and dampen construction activity.

REUTERS