Chinese Enterprises Maintain Sound PerformanceThe index of performance of enterprises in China maintained an upward trend for three consecutive quarters by the end of 2000, official figures showed.The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the figures Friday showing the index of enterprise performance climbed 2.2 points to 125.4 points in the last quarter of 2000, maintaining a quarterly growth of about two points since April. The index of the performance for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) continued to rise for the fourth consecutive quarter to 121.1 points in the last quarter of 2000, rising 2.6 points over the previous quarter. Manufacturing enterprises continued to lead all other trades in terms of performance for the fifth consecutive quarter, while housing, wholesale and retail, catering and real estate industries improved steadily. The performance index for transportation, storage and telecommunications industries slipped three points over the previous quarter. During that period, the coal mining industry shook off its doldrums as its performance index entered positive zones for the first time in years. The performance index of the oil and natural gas industry remained on a high level in the fourth quarter of last year. According to NBS, despite a slowdown of increase in production and sales and rising stockpiles, the index of profits of Chinese enterprises reached 107.1 points in the fourth quarter. The NBS predicts that the performance index of Chinese enterprises will remain stable around 122 points in the first quarter of this year. The index of entrepreneur confidence rose one point to 117.9 points in the last quarter of last year. The NBS predicts that the index will be at 115 points in the first quarter of this year. |
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