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Indicators paint a rosy picture

(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-10 08:45

The government has budgeted 487.5 billion yuan of stimulus spending this year.[China Daily]

Look no further than Alcoa Inc and General Motors Co for evidence that the Chinese economy is poised to accelerate even after a slump in lending growth dragged down the nation's stock market.

Alcoa, the largest US aluminum producer, is raising its forecast for global consumption of the metal on stronger demand from China. GM, the biggest overseas automaker in China, says the nation's vehicle sales may reach 12 million, surpassing the US as the world's No 1 market.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index entered a bear market, or a decline of at least 20 percent, since Aug 31 on concern a slide in new loans in July might slow production and investment. Figures for August may allay the fears: industrial output rose the most in a year and retail sales climbed at a 15 percent annual pace, median forecasts in Bloomberg News surveys show.

"Credit tightening isn't going to crash the economy," said Tim Condon, head of Asia research in Singapore at ING Groep NV. "It's taking investors a little time to get their heads around this fact."

China's stocks rose for a seventh day yesterday, the longest winning streak in four months, as commodity producers and automakers advanced on an increase in metal prices and car sales. The Shanghai Composite Index added 15.78, or 0.5 percent, to 2,946.26 at the close, capping a 10 percent advance this month.

Related readings:  China's bullish economy climbs spot  China advances to the 29th most competitive economy  China's economic aggregate ranks third in the world  Gov't to leave off role in driving Chinese economy next year

'On track'

A boom in lending earlier this year will be enough to sustain a pick-up in the country's economic expansion, analysts said. China's GDP may increase 9.5 percent in 2010 after an 8.3 percent gain in 2009, the smallest in eight years, according to a Bloomberg survey of 22 economists conducted the week ending Aug 28.

"China's economic recovery is well on track," said Lu Zhengwei, an economist at Fuzhou-based Industrial Bank Co, China's seventh-largest bank by market value. "With the explosion of loans so far, stimulus investment won't be affected, even if lending declines for the rest of this year."

August new-lending figures are scheduled to be released on Friday and may show a 10 percent decline to 320 billion yuan, according to the median estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The July total was less than 25 percent of the June figure.

Loans reached a record 7.7 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, spurring concern among Chinese policy makers that a credit boom would stoke speculation in assets such as stocks and property.

While credit growth is slowing, some industries are continuing to obtain financing, helping ease any impact on the nation's manufacturing, analysts said.

Ample funding

Loans of more than a year, used for projects such as railways and power-generation plants, showed ample funding, said Wang Tao, an economist at UBS AG. Short-term credit, more likely to be used for speculative purposes, dropped, she added.

Industrial production, due for release on Friday, rose at an 11.8 percent annual rate in August, after a 10.8 percent increase in July, according to the median of 15 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Retail sales figures the same day may show a 15.3 percent gain in August from a year earlier, the biggest rise since January, economists' estimates indicate.

To maintain the momentum, the central government has budgeted 487.5 billion yuan of stimulus spending this year and another 588.5 billion yuan in 2010 for work on projects from low-cost housing to reconstruction in Sichuan province, hit by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake in May 2008.

Rising demand

All this means more business for Chinese and international companies. Alcoa expects China's consumption of aluminum to rise 4 percent this year, compared with its earlier prediction of zero growth, because of demand triggered by stimulus spending, Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld said on Sept 3.

GM sales in China last month jumped to 152,365 vehicles, up more than 100 percent, as tax cuts and stimulus measures spurred demand. The company said its 2009 sales would rise more than 40 percent from 1.09 million last year.

The total for all automakers may increase 28 percent this year to as many as 12 million, China's top planning agency said on Saturday.

Automobile production accounts for about 2 percent of GDP and aluminum output for about 0.5 percent, according to estimates by David Cohen, an economist in Singapore at Action Economics.