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July / August Asia
China’s economy shows positive trends
China’s economic performance is showing positive signs that may nudge the country out of a long period of deflation, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Latest NBS statistics indicate that China’s economy developed in a stable and healthy way in the first five months of the year, with its gross domestic product (GDP) expected to reach 7.5 percent for the whole year.
The industrial enterprises reported 125.4 billion yuan in profits during the period, of which the state-owned and state-holding enterprises contributed 55 percent, or 69.2 billion yuan, 3.1 times that the same period last year. The industrial added value accumulated to 890.4 billion yuan, up 11 percent, with the industrial performance composite index climbing to 101.8, the highest level in recent years.
During the January May period, the investment expectations were rising again owing to newly started projects. The fixed assets investment of state owned and other economies rose 9.5 percent in the period to hit 523.3 billion yuan.
Experts said the central government’s stimulus policies for consumption have had positive results. And urban retail sales of consumer products rose 11.5 percent on an annual basis.
Japan’s industrial output up
Japan’s industrial output in May rose 0.2 percent from the previous month, the trade ministry said in a preliminary report.
The May figure followed a revised output fall of 0.6 percent in April, it said.
Industrial shipments climbed 0.5 percent against a revised 0.6 percent decline in April, while inventories fell 0.3 percent against an increase of 0.3 percent.
The government forecast June output would grow 1.4 percent from May and July output was als’aYnpected to rise 0.4 percent from June.
South Korea posts $ 1.54 Bl. surplus
South Korea’s current account surplus fell to dlrs 1.54 billion in May, down from a surplus of dlrs 2.29 billion a year earlier, the Central Bank of Korea said recently But the country recovered from a deficit of dlrs 298 million in April thanks to a fall in interest payments on foreign debts owned by local banks, as well as a rise in major exports, such asautomobiles and computer memory chips, it said.
The current account surplus during the first five months of this year fell to dlrs 2.42 billion, from dlrs 10.12 billion a year ago, the bank said.
Automobile exports rose in may after a sluggish performance in April when auto workers went on strike. In May, global computer chip prices also increased, helping South Korean Chipmakers.
Indonesia’s rubber output to go down 5%
Indonesian rubber output is expected to fall by as much as five percent in 2000 to around 1.47 million tones from last year’s 1.55 million tonnes, a top Indonesian Rubber Association official said recently.
“Due to low rubber prices last year, some farmers in some regions have shifted to other cash crops such as oil palm,” Suharto Honggokusumo, executive director at Indonesia’s rubber association said in an interview.
Indonesia, the world’s second largest producer of rubber, produced 1.64 million tones in 1998, they added.
Japan’s future economic index picks up in May
Japan’s forward looking index of economic activity improved in May thanks to better commercial construction starts and new car sales, the Economic Planning Agency said recently.
The leading index of data pointing to economic activity in the next three-to-six months stood at 57.1 points, up from a revised 33.3 points in March, the agency said.
The 50 point mark is regarded as the theoretical dividing line between growth and decline for the economy.
The leading index is based on a raft of financial figures which give a pointer to the future of the economy, such as commodity indices and the number of new home building projects.
Asean urged to tell truth about economic recovery
Southeast Asians should be told the truth about the region’s wobbly recovery from the 1997 financial crisis, which is often glossed over in official statistics, a leading social activist said recently.
Walden Bello, coordinator of the anti-globalization movement focus on the Global South, said the recovery remains fragile because it is being powered mainly by higher government spending.
In many Asean countries, financial systems are still unsound and non-performing loans are high, he said. Heavier government spending, which has led to severe budget deficits, spurred the growth.
Japan’s trade surplus up
Japan’s trade surplus in June edged up 3.0 percent year on-year as robust growth of high technology exports to a recovering Asia offset steeper crude oil prices, the government said recently.
The surplus rose for the first time in two months to 1,197.8 billion yen (11 billion dollars), the finance ministry said.
“An increase of IT related exports contributed to the rise in the surplus,” said a ministry official.
“But the rise in crude oil prices worked to dent the surplus,” he added.
The June figures represent a blip in a shrinking trend, analysts said, as the Japanese economy recovers and consumers spend more on imported goods.
Exports increased 9.8 percent in June to 4,486.8 billion yen, while imports grew 12.5 percent to 3,289.0 billion yen, the finance ministry said.
China to reduce funding of state enterprises
China will gradually reduce funding of loss-making state enterprises over the next three to five years, Finance Minister Xiang huaicheng said recently.
Xiang told a national meeting of finance that the government will also stop allocating budget funds to projects in industries that should be ruled by the market, the Xinhua news agency reported.
This will form part of a broader effort to reform public budgets, and could mark a further step away from the planned economy of the past.
It is designed to help the government control costs, which have been mounting over the past few years.
According to the 2000 budget presented earlier this year, the government deficit this year will be a record 229.9 billion yuan (28 billion dollars).
