Slower rise in services at private firms

SERVICE activities at Chinese private and export-oriented companies surprisingly grew more slowly in November, with respondents in a survey blaming a slower rise in new orders after October's week-long holiday.

The HSBC Business Activity Index, which measures operating conditions in largely private and export-oriented service companies, fell to 52.1 last month from 53.5 in October, HSBC Holdings Plc and research firm Markit said yesterday.

A reading above 50 means expansion.

"Despite the moderating growth in service activities in November, service providers hired more workers and became more optimistic on their future look," said Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC. "The service sector's performance is likely to get a lift from the recovery in manufacturing as the (government's) policy easing is likely to boost domestic demand in the coming months."

The component indices showed that new orders won by service firms grew more slowly in November, and less than 12 percent of the respondents saw more new business.

Meanwhile, the official non-manufacturing Business Activity Index, geared toward state-owned service firms, rose 0.1 point from October to 55.6 last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

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