Shenzhen economy accelerated its recovery with major indicators continuing to rise at faster rates in August as supporting measures kicked in to boost growth and offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Statistics released by the Shenzhen Municipal Statistics Bureau showed the added value to industrial output rose 0.8 percent year on year between January and August, 0.6 and 2.4 percentage points higher than the growth rates in the January-July period and the first half of the year (H1), respectively.
The added value of computer, telecommunication and other electronic equipment manufacturing increased by 2.5 percent year on year.
Fixed asset investment surged by 10.2 percent in the January-August period from a year ago, and the growth rate was 0.3 and 2.4 percentage points higher than the January-July period and H1, respectively.
The fixed asset investment in primary industry, secondary industry and tertiary industry increased by 43.9 percent, 5.6 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively. The investment in infrastructure grew by 5.7 percent.
Retail sales, a major gauge of consumption, grew by 2.2 percent from a year earlier to 82.3 billion yuan (US$12.06 billion) in August. Between January and August, the social consumption sales total was 524 billion yuan, down by 10.3 percent from a year earlier, but the decline narrowed by 2 and 4.5 percentage points compared with the first seven months of the year and H1, respectively.
The city saw its January-August foreign trade volume edge up 2 percent year on year to 1.88 trillion yuan. Of the total trade, the export volume reached 1.04 trillion yuan, while the import volume was 845.69 billion yuan.
In August, the city’s general public revenue for the first time this year returned to positive growth, up 1.1 percent to reach 22.9 billion yuan.
Tang Shukui, director with the Shenzhen Municipal Finance Bureau, said on a radio program Friday that the city’s expenditure on improving the quality of life in such aspects as education and health care has increased so far this year despite its general public budgetary expenses has been cut by 5 percent.
Between January and August, the city spent 168.7 billion yuan on residents’ livelihood and well-being, amounting to 70 percent of the city’s financial expenses. The expenditure on education increased by 17.6 percent and was close to the levels of Beijing and Shanghai. The expenses on health care also rose 13.7 percent. By the end of August, the city had spent 6.8 billion yuan in COVID-19 prevention and control.