China Reports Rapid Industrial Growth

BEIJING, August 9 (Xinhua) -- China registered a 9.3 percent growth rate in industrial added value in July, according to a monthly report released today by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The country manufactured 162.1 billion yuan worth of products in the month, 97.43 percent of which was sold, up 0.59 percentage points from July 1998, and up 0.36 percentage points from this June's figure.

In the January-July period, the total incremental value reached 1.101 trillion yuan, up 9.4 percent over the same period last year.

In July, state-owned enterprises completed 93 billion yuan of added value, up 7.9 percent on a year-on-year base, while that for collectively owned enterprises rose by 8.2 percent, and foreign- funded firms by 12.9 percent.

Heavy industry enjoyed a more rapid growth rate than light industry, with production of major raw material products witnessing fast development, said the report. It added that home refrigeration products also enjoyed a hot market because of the high temperatures in July.

The incremental value of heavy industry was 93.5 billion yuan for the month, up 9.4 percent, and that of light industry was 68.6 billion yuan, up 9.1 percent.

In July, the country generated 107.1 billion kw.h of electricity, up 6.9 percent on a year-on-year base, according to the report.