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China boosts industrial output
BEIJING, China -- China's industrial output rose 19.8 percent in February from a year earlier, the State Statistical Bureau said on Tuesday. The figure was above expectations of about 15 percent. Industrial production is being driven by the government's investment in infrastructure, strong growth in exports, and continuing inward investment in factories. Chinese consumer demand for cars, housing, home appliances and mobile phones remains strong. China's economy, which grew at about 8.0 percent last year, is expected to expand by more than 7.0 percent this year. In a commentary this week on the Chinese economy, banking group HSBC said Shanghai and other coastal cities were booming and were likely to continue to do so as result of rising investment inflows and trade. But it said it was a different story for the interior provinces, where per capita GDP is only one-third of that in the coastal regions. HSBC's latest China forecast is for 7.2 percent growth in 2003. Regional analyst IMA Asia is predicting 7.5 percent, Merrill Lynch is opting for about 7.6 percent, while Morgan Stanley has a relatively cautious figure of 7.0 percent, revised down in late February from 7.2 percent because of geopolitical concerns. China's State Statistical Bureau said Tuesday that in the first two months of 2003, industrial production climbed 17.5 percent compared with a year earlier. It rose 14.8 percent year-on-year in January, following 12.6-percent growth for all of 2002. China has not given an official target for industrial output for all of 2003, but officials have said it could rise 10 percent. Reuters contributed to this report.
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