China Fixed Asset Investment

China’s fixed-asset investment rose by 4.5% year-on-year in January to March 2024, beating market forecasts of 4.3% and up from a 4.2% increase in the previous month. It was the largest growth since April 2023, as investment accelerated in the secondary sector (13.4% vs 11.9% previously), driven by increases from the mining industry (18.5%), and electricity, heat, gas and water (29.1%). Additionally, investment in the primary sector rebounded by 1.0%, after falling by 5.7% in the prior period. Also, the tertiary sector continued to grow but to a lesser extent (0.8% vs 1.2%), prompted by a rise in railway transportation industry (17.6%), air transportation industry (35.4%), and water conservancy management industry (13.9%). Meanwhile, investment in real estate contracted by an annual 9.5% during the first three months of the year, compared with a drop of 9.4% in the previous period.