Profits at China's industrial companies fell 6.7% year-on-year in July 2023, extending this year's slump to a seventh straight month, as weak demand caused pressure on companies as the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic stalls in the world's second-largest economy.
China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that industrial companies' earnings in the first seven months of this year fell 15.5 percent year-on-year, after falling 16.8 percent in the first half of this year. this early year.
According to NBS expert Sun Xiao, commodity prices are at a low level, and the pressure on raw material costs in industries has somewhat eased. The cost of industrial enterprises has generally improved.
Major Chinese manufacturers reported losses in the first half of this year, with China Aluminum International reporting a net loss of 830.6 million yuan ($114.2 million), compared with a net profit of 123,6 million yuan in the same period last year.
Major banks have lowered their growth forecasts for this year to below the government's target of around 5% as the recovery slows due to worsening asset declines, weak consumer spending, and rising credit growth. Facing this situation, banks have cut interest rates and authorities have committed to provide additional support measures.
The data also showed that earnings of state-owned enterprises fell 20.3% in the first seven months of this year, foreign companies fell 12.4% and private sector companies recorded a 10 percent drop of 7%. Profits fell sharply in 28 of 41 key industries during the period, with metallurgy and non-ferrous metal processing reporting the deepest drop of 90.5%.
The People's Bank of China (PBoC, the central bank) said that in August 2023 it will maintain a "correct and strong" policy to support the recovery. Speaking at the BRICS Summit in South Africa on August 22, President Xi Jinping said that China's economy is resilient and the fundamentals for long-term growth remain unchanged.
(The Gioi & Viet Nam)