Fewer Chinese residents willing to invest in Q4: central bank

BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's urban residents were more willing to increase consumption and deposit savings than invest in the fourth quarter of 2021, said a central bank survey.

Among the 20,000 urban bank depositors surveyed in 50 cities across China, 24.7 percent expressed their willingness to increase consumption in the fourth quarter, 0.6 percentage points up from the previous quarter, according to the survey conducted by the People's Bank of China.

Respondents who were willing to deposit more savings in the fourth quarter accounted for 51.8 percent, up 1 percentage point from the previous quarter.

Those who favored investment were fewer from the previous quarter. Financial products from banks, brokerage firms and insurers topped the list of the respondents' preferred investment options, followed by trust funds and stocks, according to the survey.

The survey showed that residents hope to increase their spending mostly on medical care, education and high-priced products in the first quarter of 2022.