China's economy stable in May but investment slowed, official says

China's economy continued its steady growth in May but investment slowed, the country's National Bureau of Statistics report showed on Wednesday.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded 6.5 percent year-on-year in May, flat with April. Retail sales grew 10.7 percent year-on-year in May.

In the first five months of 2017, national fixed asset investment grew 8.6 percent year-on-year, 0.3 percentage point slower than the growth in the first four months. Private fixed asset investment increased by 6.8 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the growth in the first four months.

The May data showed, with still solid factory output and retail sales, there only have a slight slowdown in fixed asset investment. While, property investment and construction showed a much sharper deceleration after a slew of government cooling measures in recent months.

Investment in property development expanded 8.8 percent year on year during the January-May period, down from 9.3 percent in the first four months, data shows.

Growth of private investment slowed slightly to 6.8 percent in January-May period from 6.9 percent in the first four months, the National Bureau of Statistics said, suggesting a slight weakening of the private sector's appetite to invest as small- and medium-sized private firms still face challenges in accessing financing.

Some economists believe that, despite expectations that the economy will lose some steam later this year, Beijing still can easily meet its full-year growth target of 6.5 percent, alone with its strong first quarter.

However, some observers are more worried about the risks of a sharp slowdown next year. Economists at Nomura said in a note this week, echoing the warnings of others such as the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

"Enjoy the party, but stay close to the door," said Nomura, predicting growth will slow sharply to 6.2 percent in 2018 and adding there could be a greater risk of financial turmoil.

(CGTN)