BIZCHINA / Top Biz News |
Economist: Snow's economic toll will be temporary(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-03 14:23 Three weeks of snow across most of China have "taken a toll on the economy" but the impact will dissipate over the full year, according to Fan Gang, a renowned Chinese economist. Fan, director of China's National Institute of Economic Research, said in Beijing on Saturday that the snow crisis would actually stimulate investment, including upgrading the electricity grid nationwide and improving the coal infrastructure.
Li Huiyong, a senior macro-economic analyst at Shenyin & Wanguo Securities, forecast that the gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2008 would grow around 10.1 percent, 0.5 point lower than an earlier prediction, due to slower growth in exports, investment and industrial production. "The snow has affected Chinese economy for the moment, but for the long run, the country will maintain a quick economic growth pace," said Zhu Hongren, deputy director of the Bureau of Economic Operations with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), on Friday. Li also predicted that the consumer price index (CPI) would surge to 6.8 percent in January, 0.3 point higher than in December, and possibly set a new high in February. The Spring Festival, which begins on February 7, is a traditional time for Chinese shopping sprees. The CPI rose 4.8 percent in 2007 and hit an 11-year-high of 6.9 percent just in November, well above the government target of 3 percent. |
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