Property investment up despite tightening
CHINA S real estate investment rose 35.2 percent in the first two months from a year ago, up from a 33.2 percent pace for all of 2010, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday.
That came after the government issued fresh measures in late January, including higher down payment and a maiden launch of a property tax, to rein in the red-hot real estate market and keep housing inflation in check. The NBS said mortgage loans to individuals fell 11.3 percent in the first two months to 128 billion yuan, registering a decline for the first time since February 2009.
As the cooling measures dampen developers outlook for their industry, annual growth in newly started property construction slowed to 27.9 percent in the first two months from an increase of 40.7 percent in all of 2010, the NBS said.
Power output growth rebounds in Jan., Feb.
THE country s electricity output increased 15.4 percent from a year earlier in February and gained 11.7 percent in the first two months of this year, government data showed Friday.
Power use comparisons in January and February are often distorted by the Lunar New Year holiday, when industrial power consumption dwindles. The holiday can fall in January or February. Still, the growth rates for January, February and for the two months combined were the fastest since September 2010, suggesting power consumption has rebounded from late last year when many provinces curbed power use in order to reach national energy-saving targets.
Rising meat consumption boosts corn demand
NEW Hope Group Co., China s biggest maker of livestock feed, said rising output of meat, dairy and eggs will boost demand for corn this year, draining stockpiles.
Grain supply, especially feed grain, is tightening because of demand from livestock farmers as a drought in northern regions hurts crops, chairman Liu Yonghao said in Beijing last week. The government should encourage imports of other feed ingredients such as distillers grain, he said. China is the world s second-biggest corn user. Rising incomes among its 1.3 billion people are improving diets and spurring demand for meat and dairy products.
