More cooling measures planned
3 August 2006
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has renewed calls for curbs on capital spending and credit ahead of a meeting of more than 100 top central and regional economic officials to find new ways to cool the mainland economy. The NDRC report published by state media Wednesday warned that failure to curb overly rapid fixed-asset investment and credit growth could threaten economic and social stability. The economy expanded by 10.9% in the first six months, including 11.3% in the second quarter, the fastest rate for 12 years. The commission identified excessively fast growth in fixed-asset investment, excessive liquidity and the nation's trade surplus as the three main problems facing the economy. Urban fixed-asset investment, which the commission warns is the greatest of the three threats, grew 31.3% in the first half of this year, 4.2 points faster than last year and well above the government's projected 18% growth this year.