Thu, Mar 26, 2009
Reuters
CHINA'S economy has touched bottom, a Chinese central-bank adviser said yesterday.
A 25 per cent rise in car sales and accelerating investment in China indicated that the world's third-largest economy was showing signs of improvement, said Mr Fan Gang, who is on the central bank's monetary-policy advisory committee.
"Before (the economy) bottoms out, it has to bottom. I believe it has bottomed, with the (help of the) stimulus package and (there are) signs of recovery in some industries," Mr Fan said in an interview during the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong.
Steel and energy consumption was declining at a slower rate and may have turned positive this month, while the transportation sector was warming up.
Mr Fan's comments are a further sign of growing confidence among Chinese leaders that the country can achieve its target of 8 per cent economic growth this year, despite the chilling effects of the global slowdown, which has seen Asian exports collapse.
Mr Ben Simpfendorfer, chief China economist at RBS, said that while a potential recovery in China would provide a psychological boost to the global economic outlook, it would have limited real impact on worldwide growth.
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Business/Story/A1Story20090326-131098.htmlMore signs of life. Unfortunately, China's exports have more to fall.
